By David Himbara
The IMF introduced the term “the poorest and most vulnerable member countries” in 2020, comprising 25 countries including Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, DR Congo, Haiti, and Rwanda. These poorest and most vulnerable countries have been receiving grants to service their IMF debts.
The category of “the poorest and most vulnerable members” was first used by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2020. The IMF’s poorest member countries comprised 25 states, including Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, and Togo. These countries are to receive grants to cover their IMF debt obligations so that they can use the freed money to address the impact of the COVID19 pandemic. This IMF scheme to assist the poorest member countries is known as the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT), with contributions coming from the developed economies. Leading contributors to CCRT are the European Union, the UK, Japan, and Germany. Stay tuned.
