Covid-19 Pandemic: IMF Approves Debt Relief for 25 Poor Nations…
Source: https://www.channelstv.com/2020/04/14/covid-19-imf-approves-debt-relief-for-25-poor-countries/
International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday 13th April 2020 brings to the public the immediate debt relief for 25 poor countries mostly in Africa to effectively fight the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
The IMF Managing Director; Kristalina Georgieva said the grants are been provided to the poorest and most vulnerable members (countries) to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts.
The IMF board approved the debt relief for the countries, nearly all in Africa, and as well as Afghanistan, Yemen, Nepal, and Haiti.
The fund together with the World Bank have called for rich nations to stop collecting debt payments from poor countries from May 1 through June 2021.
The debt relief will be funded by the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT), which was first set up to combat the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2015 and has been repurposed to help countries fend off COVID-19.
The fund currently has $500 million, with Japan, Britain, China, and the Netherlands among its main contributors.
Kristalina Georgieva urges other donors to help replenish the trust’s resources and boost the ability to provide additional debt service relief for a full two years to our poorest member countries.
World Bank said last week that the sum of $160 billion would be rolled out for emergency aid over 15 months to help countries stricken by the virus, including $14 billion in debt repayments from 76 poor countries to other governments.
