IMF Chiefs Say Africa’s Recovery Needs Billions and Reforms

Sub-Saharan Africa will need hundreds of billions of dollars and reforms that bring change for a resilient recovery from the damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Support from the international community that includes stepped-up debt relief, financing and capacity development will be needed, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Abebe Aemro Selassie, the director of the lender’s Africa department, said Tuesday in a blog post. The IMF has approved more than $15 billion in financial assistance and debt-service relief to sub-Saharan African countries to offset the impact of the pandemic and “certainly will be doing more in the years ahead,” they said.