The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has approved a landmark $10 billion Gulf Crisis Response Programme aimed at helping African and Caribbean economies weather the severe economic shocks triggered by the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Announced on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, the comprehensive support package is designed to sustain essential imports — including fuel, liquefied natural gas (LNG), food, fertiliser, and pharmaceuticals — by providing short-term foreign exchange and liquidity to vulnerable member states.
Multiple Layers of Protection
The programme goes beyond emergency relief. It also aims to help African energy and minerals exporters capitalise on elevated prices and rerouted trade flows by scaling productive capacity in strategic commodities. Countries whose tourism and aviation industries have been adversely impacted by the conflict will also receive short-term relief through the mechanism.
Perhaps most significantly, the programme is structured to build medium- to long-term resilience against future shocks. It includes provisions for accelerating the completion of critical energy, port, and logistics infrastructure projects in African and Caribbean member states that have been delayed by the conflict.
A Region Under Pressure
The announcement comes as the Middle East conflict continues to disrupt global supply chains, driving up energy costs and threatening food security across the African continent. Fertilisers prices have soared since the war began, with the disruption of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz creating cascading effects for African farmers who rely on imports.
Oil prices have surged past $100 per barrel, adding further strain to economies already grappling with high debt servicing costs and currency weakness. The ripple effects have been felt from Nigeria, where petrol prices have jumped at the pump, to Kenya, where private sector activity contracted for the first time in seven months in March.
Strategic Timing
Afreximbank President Professor Benedict Oramah said the institution had moved swiftly to deploy the programme given the urgency of the situation. “The conflict in the Gulf has created a twin shock for Africa — on energy and on food security,” he noted. “We could not afford to wait.”
Looking Ahead
Analysts say the programme is a critical lifeline for the continent’s most vulnerable economies. With the African Development Bank projecting growth of just 3.7% for Sub-Saharan Africa in 2026, access to liquidity and trade finance will be essential to preventing a deeper slowdown. The programme is expected to be operational within weeks.