IMF approves $959m debt service relief for 28 countries

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the second six-month tranche of debt service relief worth $959 million for 28 of the world’s poorest countries.

To be provided through the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT), the second tranche will include the disbursement of around $227 million in grants, according to a recent press release.

The IMF relief aid aims to support those countries, which suffer from scarce financial resources for vital medical and other relief, amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The debt relief could be provided for a total period of two years, through April 13, 2022.

This decision came following the IMF’s first six-month tranche approved on 13 April 2020 for 25 countries.

The executive directors of the IMF referred that the Fund has received grant pledges of just over one-third of the $1.4 billion fundraising target.