The severe economic crisis ignited by the coronavirus pandemic requires the rapid deployment of every available financial lifeline to help countries survive, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said Thursday.
The uncertainty about the health emergency and the extent of the economic damage have driven governments and development lenders to rollout new and accelerated aid vehicles, in the hopes of preventing an even more dire impact.
“Everything has to be on the table. We simply don’t know yet how the crisis would evolve,” Georgieva said.
With over two million cases worldwide, the overall death toll approaching 140,000, and nearly 4.4 billion people subject to some degree of lockdown, COVID-19 has brought much of the global economy to a standstill.
The International Monetary Fund projects the world economy will shrink by three percent this year, or $9 trillion, but many private forecasters are even more pessimistic.
The IMF and World Bank have rushed out billions in financing, ramping up and streamlining aid programs in recent weeks, and winning agreement to provide a one-year debt payment standstill on loans to the poorest countries.
Governments are calling on private lenders to do the same, and the Institute of International Finance, the global banking association, has endorsed forbearance for the 76 poorest nations in the world.
Georgieva, who acknowledged continuing debate among some of the fund’s members over what additional steps would work best, said the critical thing is to act now with the resources available.
