By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 23rd, 2024
The $50 billion aid package offered by IMF is aimed at strengthening weak health institutions in the countries with emerging economies amid the coronavirus outbreak among other things.
The IMF $50 billion aid package is intended to fight the coronavirus. This comes as countries are still spinning from the effects of the outbreak. For most of the developing countries, their responses to the epidemic seem to have been hindered by one thing only: money.
Sources indicate that the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva had indicated that the money is already currently available. She also said the funds are for emerging countries with lower incomes than normal.
IMF $50 Billion Coronavirus Aid Package Is Interest-Free
She further confirmed that the IMF coronavirus aid is interest-free. There are also no restrictions concerning access to the funds. Countries don’t need to have been part of any previous programs with the fund to be a part of this one. Reportedly, Georgieva:
“What we’re doing right now is reviewing country by country what are the financial needs, and engaging with these countries to make sure they are aware of this resource and we can immediately respond to them. We’re in an early stage of engagement, but I can assure you that we will act very quickly as requests come.”
This points to a new form of global partnerships. Supranational organizations are stepping in to fill the gaps that the outbreak has caused. This also indicates that the community of nations is once-more becoming cohesive in its response to the global crisis.
The IMF Managing Director has indicated that the money that’s released should be used for equipping the healthcare infrastructure of the recipient countries. Fiscal stimulus and liquidity boosting are the other areas of concern that the fund is also interested in.
COVID-19 Causes Problems on a Global Scale
The emergence of the COVID-19 virus has already caused chaos on a global scale. The global economy is already teetering on the edge of what many people think could be the next economic crisis. Economic hubs are already shut down due to travel restrictions. Nation-states are restricting themselves to COVID-19 free countries. This is leading to global isolation rather than global cohesion. International institutions such as the world bank and the IMF have already shown their mettle in dealing with global crises.
The World Bank has also done something to help nation-states in tackling the virus. It has created a $12 billion program in this regard. This was created to help countries to deal with the fallout from the outbreak.
On a global scale, countries are already in the process of providing solutions to the many sectors of their economies. Such programs include the creation of credit lines to ailing businesses and government-backed guarantees,
Many gaps are already occurring within the global system. The global economy is facing upheaval. Value chains are being disrupted. Coordinated action is needed. This is what many Central banks are already doing.
The United States Fed recently cut the interest rate by 50 points. The Bank of Canada has also done something similar. More are expected to follow.
In times such as these, the opportunities arising from the crisis are what we should consider. For the IMF, the opportunities to help weak nation-states appear to be what it has identified. Only one thing stands in the way of programs like this from succeeding: corruption.