Egypt’s Amer calls for huge IMF, World Bank rescue package for Africa

Central Bank of Egypt Governor Tarek Amer urged the IMF and the World Bank to extend more than $500 bn in financial assistance to African countries amid coronavirus crisis

Speaking at the IMF / World Bank African Caucus of Governors, Amer said the existing funding has fallen short of what the continent needs to recover from the economic crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic, and called for a package equal to the value of goods imported by Africa from developed countries, which he put at $549 bn.

The IMF has so far given more than $ 24 bn in emergency financial assistance to African countries and approved debt relief for 25 countries, 19 of them in Africa. The World Bank had announced earlier this year its plans to provide a total USD 160 bn in grants and financial support to 100 developing countries as they battle with the fallout from covid-19