Even before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, many low-income countries (LICs), and mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), were already at risk of debt distress. The slump in global commodity prices pushed more SSA commodity exporting countries into further risk of a debt crisis. And the outbreak of COVID-19, with the associated demand and supply shocks, has restricted trade and reduced revenues available to governments, thereby threatening to reverse the region’s recent development and policy gains. In this talk, Abebe Selassie, director of the International Monetary Fund’s African Department, will talk about the Fund’s assistance to African countries including immediate debt service relief for 25 eligible LICs, finance from the Catastrophic Containment Relief Trust, and advice on policy reforms.
