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| Abebe Aemro Selassie, deputy director, IMF’s African Department |
 What is the biggest economic challenge facing SSA? |
This is a huge region we are talking about, with an extremely diverse group of countries and circumstances. The region has been doing very well in the last 10 to 15 years. But the single most-important challenge is to sustain the growth we have seen since 2000. We’ve seen average economic growth increase sharply.
About two-thirds of the countries in the region have enjoyed 10 or more years of uninterrupted economic growth. In a quarter of the countries, that period is coming close to 20 years. In the likes of Rwanda, Senegal, Mozambique, Uganda and Tanzania, we have seen very sustained periods of economic growth.
This growth has been built with a backdrop of very sound macroeconomic policies and stability addressing the health and education investment needs that these countries have. So sustaining those sound policies is paramount – that’s really fundamental.
There is a lot of poverty and inequality in the region, but for the vast majority of countries we see a positive future.