IMF cancels debt payments for 6 months for 25 poor nations

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Apr 2020: Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network an alliance of more than 75 US organizations and 700 faith communities working for debt relief called the IMF announcement an incredibly positive step.

The International Monetary Fund approved 500 million on Monday to cancel six months of debt payments for 25 of the worlds most impoverished countries so they can help tackle the COVID19 pandemic, Yahoo reported.

 

IMF Executive Director Kristalina Georgieva issued a statement saying the IMF executive board approved the immediate debt service relief for 19 African countries Afghanistan Haiti Nepal Solomon Islands Tajikistan 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, Georgieva said.

She said the money will come from the IMFs revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust which will use recent pledges of 185 million from the United Kingdom and 100 million from Japan She urged other donors to help replenish the trusts resources.

The 19 African countries to receive debt relief are Benin, Burkina,, Faso Central African Republic Chad Comoros Congo The Gambia Guinea GuineaBissau Liberia Madagascar Malawi Mali Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sao, Tome and Principe Sierra Leone, and Togo.

UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres and a group of 165 former global leaders and prominent international figures have urged the suspension of debt repayments for the worlds poorest and most vulnerable countries so they can use their scant resources for the coronavirus crisis.

Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network an alliance of more than 75 US organizations and 700 faith communities working for debt relief called the IMF announcement an incredibly positive step.

Many of these countries have less than 50 critical care unit beds per country LeCompte said in a statement These countries need to bolster their health systems right away and cancellation of debt for six months will help these countries.

But LeCompte said more needs to be done. As the poorest countries in the world, they really need full cancellation of their debts, he said