IMF announces debt relief to 25 countries; Here is the list of nations receiving funds

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued immediate debt relief to 25 countries that are suffering the most due to coronavirus pandemic. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of IMF issued a statement in this regard and said, that the Executive Board had approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF's member countries under the IMF's revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT).

CCRT was set up in 2015 to combat the West Africa Ebola outbreak. Fund collected in this has been repurposed to help countries with a debt relief package for countries suffering from coronavirus.

CCRT currently has $500 million contributed by Japan, Britain, China and the Netherlands among its main contributors. IMF took the decision to help reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the people of poor countries, as countries across the world including those called the superpowers are also facing an economic crisis.

Here is the list of countries that will receive debt relief fund from IMF:

IMF MD also clarified that the funds were released for poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months. These grants are expected to help these countries channel the scarce financial resources towards handling the emergency situation including medical expenses and relief measures at the time of the pandemic.

The IMF along with World Bank have requested economically forward countries not to collect debt payments from poor countries from May 1 to June 2021.

Countries spending more on paying debts than on medical care

The World Bank also took a step in this regard and promised to release $160 billion emergency aid over the span of 15 months to help poor countries during the fight against coronavirus and a weak economy. The fund will also include $14 billion in debt payments that poor countries are liable to pay their creditors (other countries).

A study conducted by Jubilee Debt Campaign known as JDC states that at least 60 countries are currently spending more on paying their creditors than in the health sector. A report in The Guardian claimed that according to 2019 data, 121 low and middle-income countries, at least 60 countries were spending 10.7 percent of revenue on public health sector whereas they spent 12.2 percent of the revenue to pay for debts taken from other countries.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued immediate debt relief to 25 countries that are suffering the most due to coronavirus pandemic. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of IMF issued a statement in this regard and said, that the Executive Board had approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF's member countries under the IMF's revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT).

CCRT was set up in 2015 to combat the West Africa Ebola outbreak. Fund collected in this has been repurposed to help countries with a debt relief package for countries suffering from coronavirus. CCRT currently has $500 million contributed by Japan, Britain, China and the Netherlands among its main contributors. IMF took the decision to help reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the people of poor countries, as countries across the world including those called the superpowers are also facing an economic crisis.

Here is the list of countries that will receive debt relief fund from IMF: