The recession that is predicted to hit the globe in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic is likely to hit Africa "particularly hard", African Union chairperson, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, told his African counterparts in an online meeting.

A group of African heads of state, known as the Bureau, "agreed on the need for G20 countries to provide a comprehensive stimulus package for Africa", Mr Ramaphosa said.

This would include the suspension of interest payments on both public and private debt.

Mr Ramaphosa also said that all economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe and Sudan should be lifted to help those countries deal with the pandemic.

Emphasising the need for the continent to act together, Mr Ramaphosa insisted that "either we contain the pandemic as a continent, or we do not contain it at all"