Amidst Covid-19 Spread, IMF and World Bank Signal Debt Relief for Poor Countries
Amidst Covid-19 Spread, IMF and World Bank Signal Debt Relief for Poor Countries
March 24, 2020
Developing Countries Demand Debt Payments Stop
Washington, DC - On Monday the heads of the IMF and World Bank stated support for debt relief for very poor countries as the coronavirus spreads. African Finance Ministers called for suspension of debt payments to free up $44 billion to fight Covid-19. Ecuador s Congress also demanded its government stop paying debt. Countries need to prioritize fighting Covid-19 and billions can be freed up right away by halting debt payments, stated Eric LeCompte who leads the development group Jubilee USA and serves on United Nations debt expert groups. Both among lenders and borrowers, we see growing calls to stop paying debt to save lives during the pandemic.
The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that the
Speaking at the Peterson Institute of International Economics in Washington, Kristalina Georgieva said new
IMF research, which compares the current economy to the “roaring 1920s” that culminated in the great market crash of 1929, revealed that a similar trend was already under way.
While the inequality gap between countries had closed in the last two decades, it had increased within countries, she said, singling out the UK for particular criticism.
“In the UK, for example, the top 10% now control nearly as much wealth as the bottom 50%. This situation is mirrored across much of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), where income and wealth inequality have reached, or are near, record highs.”