The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board has approved an immediate debt service relief to 25, including 19 African countries, of the IMF’s member countries under the fund’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT).
This relief programme forms part of the fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The beneficiary countries including 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.
Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted that the relief provides grants to the 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 can currently provide about US$500 million in grant-based debt service relief, including the recent US$185 million pledge by the UK and US$100 million provided by Japan as immediately available resources.
Others, including China and the Netherlands, are also stepping forward with important contributions. I urge other donors to help us replenish the Trust’s resources and boost further our ability to provide additional debt service relief for a full two years to our poorest member countries.”
