IMF earmakrs $50bn in emergency funding

The IMF has earmarked $50bn in emergency financing for countries stricken by a coronavirus, as the fund said the outbreak had forced a cut to its forecast for global economic growth.

According to Kristalina Georgieva, IMF managing director, adverse scenarios about the spread of the virus and how it would affect the global economy were starting to materialise, “ the fund would engage ‘country by country’ to establish their financial needs. We are in an early stage of engagement but I can assure you we will act very quickly as requests come”.

The fund forecast that global growth would dip below last year’s rate of 2.9 per cent because of an outbreak that has infected more than 94, 000 people and killed excess of 3, 000.

As recently as January, it had calculated global economic growth would rise to 3.3 per cent this year, but the combination of supply and demand shocks because of the outbreak would lead to a much lower figure.

The Italian government all schools and universities to close from today until March 15, as it stepped up efforts to contain Europe’s largest outbreak according to Lucia Azzolina, education minister.  

David Malpass, World Bank president, the development lender pledged up to $12bn for countries to improve health systems. Some of the $10bn of IMF money would be available for low-income countries. A further $40bn  would be available to other members via a different instrument.