The sudden outbreak of corona virus disease (COVID-19) all over the globe has continued to spread like a wild fire. The confirmed number of deaths was about 3, 400 as of March 7, 2020 but an exponential death increase has been recorded with the number of deaths jumping to a height of about 13,550 on March 22, 2020. The alarming level of spread poses challenge to leaders, economist and policy makers in the world and have distrust global workforce. The global economic implication of the pandemic has become detrimental to human, health, social, political and economic activities, among others which has resulted to global economic shock. Hence, countries have become nationalized and politics becoming nationalistic. Among suggested policy measure include: reduction of interest rates as low as the 2009 subprime crisis percentage point just to encourage investment and recovery in global activities, International health organizations should intensifying surveillance, outbreak readiness, biomedical counter-measures as preventive measures, massive education and enlightenment about the virus using all local dilates , its mode of transmission, and its health and socio-economic effects on the household and economy at large. For an effective implementation of these policy solution, maximum support is needed from all the stakeholders such as the governments, non-governmental organizations, health professionals, the media, communities, and the individuals at large.

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This study examines foreign aid effectiveness in poverty reduction in Africa with focus on the role of regional fiscal policy on education and health. The study employs panel dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) estimation technique and covers the period 1980-2017. The results reveal that foreign aid augmented with effective fiscal policy on education significantly improves the income level in all the regions except Central Africa, and consumption in the Western and Central regions. When augmented with effective fiscal policy on health foreign aid enhances households’ income in West and Central Africa and consumption in West and Southern regions. Furthermore, foreign aid augmented with effective fiscal policy in education (health) reduces poverty headcount in the West and Central (in all regions except Central) regions of Africa. The study concludes that foreign aid augmented with fiscal policy on education improves income in all regions except Central Africa; and West and East Africa when augmented with health expenditure. To sustain the effectiveness of foreign aid in Africa there is the need to improve governments’ allocation to the health and education sectors to deepen households’ income.

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