The spread of COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021 has caused high mortality and morbidity rates across the globe. Senegal, along with other developing countries, experienced the weakening of major economic sectors such as tourism, health, agriculture, banking and transport. This led to the deterioration of the macroeconomic environment – despite fast gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6% over the past five years (2014-2019). As with most sub-Saharan countries, Senegal implemented a series of fiscal policies, and these, along with the new monetary policies of the Central Bank of West African States, aimed to enhance overall economic performance while Our Donor This project is supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The IDRC is a Canadian federal Crown corporation. It is part of Canada’s foreign affairs and development efforts and invests in knowledge, innovation, and solutions to improve the lives of people in the developing world. 3 COVID-19 and its Impact on Senegal’s Macroeconomic Structure keeping inflation down and restoring GDP growth. Given the context, the objective of this paper is to contribute to policy responses to COVID-19. The paper reviews the major fiscal and monetary policies implemented in Senegal in response to the pandemic and the effect of these policies on the country’s economic structure. Overall, Senegal’s dual system has had a positive impact on the economy and in 2020 triggered a 1.3% real GDP growth compared to the -0.4% GDP growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund prior to the implementation of the new policies.
