A lack of access to vaccines is dampening economic recovery in sub-Saharan Africa and the region will lag behind developed nations for years, the International Monetary Fund has said, according to Reuters.

Confirming its sub-Saharan Africa growth forecast of 3.7 per cent for this year and 3.8 per cent for 2022 in its regional economic outlook, the fund said rising commodity prices and favourable harvests had benefited some countries, though the overall picture was perilous.

“The outlook remains extremely uncertain, and risks are tilted to the downside,” the IMF team led by Shushanik Hakobyan wrote in its report, adding much hinged on the trajectory of the pandemic and vaccinations, but disruptions in global activity and financial markets could also derail recovery.