Western and Central Africa is projected to grow by 3.4% in 2023, down from 3.7% in 2022, the 2023 World Bank Annual Report has revealed.

This will, however, accelerate to 3.9% in 2024.

The 3.4% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth will be higher than the expected 1.5% projected for Ghana in 2023.

The World Bank pointed out that countries in Western and Central Africa are suffering from the impacts of several interlinked crises—including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—primarily through higher global commodity prices, especially for wheat and energy; a changing climate; and rising levels of debt distress.

“They also face rising food insecurity, driven by challenges such as fragility, high levels of poverty, environmental degradation, and low agricultural productivity”, it added.

Furthermore, the Washington-based institution said more than 41 million more people in the region are at risk of food insecurity, and about 29 million depend on emergency food assistance.

The World Bank is expanding its partnerships to support Agenda 2063—a strategic framework for inclusive and sustainable development in Africa.

“We support regional infrastructure networks, economic diversification, trade and transport, financial inclusion, human capital, and the resilience of people and communities. We are also focused on addressing fragility in the Lake Chad, Sahel, and Gulf of Guinea regions”, it added.

In fiscal 2023, the World Bank approved $12.0 billion in lending to Western and Central Africa for 73 operations, including $564 million in IBRD commitments and $11.4 billion in IDA commitments.

About half of these commitments went to countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence.