Afghanistan: What the COVID-19 Outbreak Means for Afghanistan’s Troubled Economy

Apr 11, 2020 | Shoaib A. Rahim, Diplomat
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Even before the novel coronavirus took the world hostage, the World Economic Outlook Report 2019 produced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had already raised concerns as it estimated a negative economic outlook due to slowing economic growth across different regions. The major reasons were issues like the trade war between the United States and China and Brexit. A World Bank report stated that extreme poverty is stagnating in Fragility or Conflict-affected States (FCS) and that up to two-thirds of the global extreme poor will be living in these countries if serious actions are not taken. This was the story before the outbreak of COVID-19, which brought the world to a stand still. The pandemic will certainly worsen global economic outlooks and it might take even the major economies years to recover. Afghanistan, ranked as a High-Intensity Conflict among FCS countries, is no exception and will bear the ramifications.