LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME countries call IMF to the rescue

While low and middle-income countries are bracing themselves to suffer the yet unmeasurable consequences of the sanitary and economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the I nternational M onetary Fund (IMF) has received an unprecedent ed number of calls for emergency financ ial assistance – from 10 3 countries so far . As of April 2 1 , the IMF had responded to 4 1 of them through 5 5 financial assistance operations to help the se countries to cope with the economic consequences of the pandemic for a total approved amount of more than $8 .3 bn. The IMF expects a total demand of about $100bn in financing. It disposes of almost $1tn financing capacity of which a fifth is already engaged. In this very short piece, we present the four tools the IMF could use to help the world poorest economies to cope with the current crisis, and a table summarizing the emergency assistance facilities approved. Together, the World Bank and the IMF have called on richer economies to cancelling or suspending debt obligations from poor countries from the first of May 2020 and through June 2021 in a solidarity effort to help alleviate the damage of the COVID-19 to the most vulnerable.