IMF

Responding to a press release issued by the G20 Presidency today signalling support for a new allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), Nadia Daar, Head of Oxfam International's Washington DC office, said: “After nearly a year of deadlock and pandemic, Oxfam is encouraged that the G20 is paving the path toward an issuance of International Monetary Fund (IMF) SDRs to boost global liquidity".  

Lebanon is extremely unequal and has been rocked by massive protests in recent months. The country is facing a financial crisis and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about a potential bailout programme.

84 percent of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) COVID-19 loans encourage, and in some cases require, poor countries hard hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic to adopt more tough austerity measures in the aftermath of the health crisis, warned Oxfam today.

The IMF has already said that the coronavirus pandemic will trigger the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression —if ever there was a time to expand SDR allocations in a major way, it is now, said Oxfam today in response to the communiqué of the International Monetary and Financial Committee.

Suspending debt owed to rich countries is only one piece of the puzzle. Rich private banks and investors should be pushed to cancel debts by enforcement and not left to voluntary action, said Oxfam today in response to the announcement that the G20 has agreed to suspend debt repayment of the poorest countries.

Without urgent action to relieve developing countries of all their external debt payments this year, and ensure they don't accrue into the future, the coronavirus could lead to millions of deaths and force half a billion more people around the world into poverty, said Oxfam today in response to the G7's joint statement on debt moratorium for poor countries.

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) gold holdings have increased in value by $19.3 billion since the start of the global coronavirus pandemic, said Oxfam today. 

In response to IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath’s statement that the coronavirus pandemic will trigger the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression, Nadia Daar, Oxfam International’s Head of Washington DC Office said: "The IMF’s assessment is chilling. The human suffering behind those numbers is almost unimaginable. Oxfam’s research shows that coronavirus could push half a billion more people into poverty".

The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could push half a billion more people into poverty unless urgent action is taken to bail out developing countries, said Oxfam today.

Nadia Daar, head of Oxfam's Washington DC office, responds to the International Monetary Fund's announcement today that it has selected Kristalina Georgieva as the next managing director.