The International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to provide $50 billion to help low income and emerging market countries deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
According to the global lender, the amount will be raised through a rapid-disbursing emergency financing facility and $10 billion of it will be available at zero interest for the poorest members.
Speaking about the rapid spread of the disease, IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said over one-third of the fund’s member countries were directly affected.
“This is no longer a regional issue, it’s a global problem calling for a global response,” she stressed.
Georgieva explained that one-third of the economic losses from the COVID-19 outbreak would be direct costs such as loss of life, workplace closures, and quarantines.
Two-thirds, she added, would be indirect, including impacts on consumer confidence, business behavior, and financial markets.
“The good news is that financial systems are more resilient than before the global financial crisis. However, our biggest challenge right now is handling uncertainty,” Georgieva said.
She added that global growth in 2020 would be below last year’s level.
“How far it will fall, and for how long, is difficult to predict, and would depend on the epidemic, but also on the timeliness and effectiveness of our actions,” the IMF chief noted.
On Tuesday, the World Bank announced $12 billion as immediate intervention for countries coping with the health and economic impacts of COVID-19.
The new coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, last December and has now spread to over 75 countries, with the global death toll estimated at 3,500 and more than 92,000 confirmed cases.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), which had declared the outbreak an international health emergency, has updated the global risk level to “very high”.
