Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday in a statement issued on that the organization will be granting debt relief to 25 countries (Mostly African countries)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has granted debt relief to 25 countries.

“Today, I am pleased to say that our Executive Board approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF’s member countries under the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement said.

“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.”

The IMF said that CCRT can currently provide about US$500 million in grant-based debt service relief, including the recent $185 million pledge by the U.K. and $100 million provided by Japan as immediately available resources.

Others, it said, including China and the Netherlands, are also stepping forward with important contributions.

Ms Giorgieva urged other donors to help the IMF replenish the Trust’s resources and boost further its ability to provide additional debt service relief for a full two years to its poorest member countries.

The countries that will receive debt service relief, the agency said, are Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali and Mozambique.

Others are Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo, and Yemen.