Economic readiness vital in cushioning against effects of future pandemics (This Day Live)

This Day Live (Nigeria) cites an IFPRI Nigeria report in its post about the importance of economic readiness in cushioning against the effects of future pandemics.

IFPRI reported that cause of the lockdown measures necessitated by the pandemic, Nigeria’s GDP plunged to 34.1 percent which translates to USD 16 billion with two-thirds of this loss coming in from the services sector. The agriculture sector, which serves as the primary means of livelihood for most Nigerians, suffered a 13.1 percent loss. Estimated households lost an average of 33 percent of their income with the heaviest losses occurring for rural non-farm and urban households. The economic impacts of COVID-19 included a 14-percentage point increase in the poverty headcount rate for Nigeria which implied that 27 million additional people fell below the poverty line during the lockdown.  Republished in Nairametrics.