By CGTN | The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board has approved a Ksh.34.2 billion ($312.4 million) extended credit facility arrangement for Madagascar to help it cushion the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and climate-related shocks, said the IMF.
“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a severe human and economic toll on Madagascar, reversing recent social and economic progress and creating fiscal and external financing needs,” Antoinette Sayeh, IMF’s deputy managing director, said in a statement late on Monday.
“Given that Madagascar remains at a moderate risk of debt distress, the authorities plan to follow a prudent debt management strategy that relies on concessional financing …”
Following its board’s decision on the 40-month arrangement, IMF will allow an immediate disbursement of about $69 million.
The IMF forecasts Madagascar’s economy to grow 3.2 percent this year, from an estimated 3.2 percent contraction last year.
To date, Madagascar has a total of 23,585 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 387 deaths, a Reuters tally shows.
