‘A Year Like No Other,’ the IMF brands 2020 due to the pandemic

At a time when the world's big economies have spent trillions of dollars to minimise the economic effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the International Monetary Fund(IMF) said it has loaned 83 countries the sum of  $165 billion, including $16.1 billion in concessional financing to 49 low-income countries, according to its annual report for 2020.

The report, titled “A Year Like No Other”, began by underlining the deep recession that the global economy has been facing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Uncertainty remains around the outlook, alongside long-term forces that shape and influence countries’ response to the virus and the recovery,” the report said.

According to the IMF, people have seen profound changes in their lives, from unemployment, climate change, to rising inequality and debt. The current economic forces and crisis could create opportunities to build a better future for people around the world.

The IMF emphasised the importance of leadership, having trust in institutions and good faith, as well as sharing the same goals for a better global economic future.

Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF Managing Director, said: “resources have allowed the IMF to commit over $100 billion to help members in need since the pandemic began.”

“This includes providing our low-income members with much-needed debt relief, extended until April 2021, and concessional lending—including about 10 times more such lending since the crisis hit than we usually disburse in a year,” she also added.

Georgieva underlined the importance of national governments’ bold steps to save poor people, unveiling approximately $12 trillion in fiscal policies, while also spending $7.5 trillion in monetary actions.

In early November, the IMF warned a group of 20 major economies the coronavirus crisis was not over and called on the United States, Britain and other countries to increase the amount of fiscal spending that was currently planned.

Early withdrawal of fiscal support at a time of maintained high rates of unemployment, would “impose further harm on livelihoods and heighten the likelihood of widespread bankruptcies, which in turn could jeopardize the recovery,” senior IMF officials added.