File photo: CGTN

The World Bank on Thursday warned sub-Saharan Africa could slip into its first recession in a quarter of century because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We project that economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa will decline from 2.4 percent in 2019 to -2.1 to -5.1 percent in 2020, the first recession in the region in 25 years," the Bank said in an assessment.