IMF approves immediate debt relief for 25 of its poorest members
The Executive Board of the IMF approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the Fund’s member countries under its revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a statement on Monday.
The countries that will receive debt service relief are: Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo, and Yemen.
“This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members 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 CCRT, established in February 2015 during the Ebola outbreak, can currently provide about USD 500 million in grant-based debt service relief, including the recent USD 185 million pledge by the U.K. and USD 100 million provided by Japan as immediately available resources.
Others, including China and the Netherlands, are also stepping forward with important contributions.
Cover photo: Shutterstock
