CEM REPORT
Total Emergency Financing and Debt Relief by the International Monetary Fund, IMF in response to the COVID-19 pandemic hits US$21.309billion. This is according to the figures published by the FUND as at the time of this report.
The Emergency Financing and Debt Relief are components of the rapid response vehicle employed by IMF to accelerate funds assistance to tackle the pandemic
So far, total funds disbursed under Emergency Financing by the International Monetary Fund, IMF amount to US$ 21.08billion.
On the other hand, IMF has so far offered a total Debt Relief amounting to US$ 229.31 million to deserving economies most of which are in the Sub-Sahara Africa. They include Afghanistan, Republic of Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Comoros and Democratic republic of Congo
Others are Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Island, Tajikistan, Togo and Yemen
According the IMF figures, Sub-Sahara Africa received US$ 9.67billion (45.89%), the largest amount of the total Emergency Financing Response. Out of this amount, Nigeria received the largest of US$3.4 billion.
Middle East and Central Asia have so far received US$ 6.10billion (28.95%) while Western Hemisphere have received US$4.0billion (18.99%)
Europe, and Asia and Pacific received US$ 1.03billion and US$ 264.93 million respectively.
In April, IMF had expressed its readiness to cooperate to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy.
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“The IMF and the world’s Regional Financing Arrangements stand united in addressing the global challenges related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and wish to extend our deepest sympathies to all those affected. We are following the situation very closely in order to contribute to the decisive actions needed globally to face these exceptional and uncertain circumstances. We are determined to provide the necessary support to mitigate the economic and financial impacts of the pandemic, especially on the most vulnerable people and countries”, IMF wrote.
To this end, the IMF doubled access to its emergency facilities, approved debt service relief for 25 low-income countries through a reformed Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT), and established a new instrument – the Short-Term Liquidity Line – to provide quick-disbursing financing to strengthen buffers and help in managing liquidity pressures for countries with strong economic policies.
Most of the countries receiving these funds have had underlying economic disadvantages raging from corruption, poor economic policies, war and other crises before the unset of the covid-19 pandemic. The intervention therefore became absolutely necessary to mitigate further crises.
Nigeria for instance have had security challenges with its immense pressure on the budget spending before the impact of crashed oil prices in the international market which further contracted revenue inflow.
Congo Democratic Republic which received US$363.27 million of the Emergency Financing Response and US$ 20.32 million Debt Service Relief has been plagued with war and starvation for over a decade.
