The government of Sierra Leone has today received approval from the IMF, for almost half the government’s $300 million it had requested from the international community a few weeks ago, in support of its COVID-19 response programme.
According to a statement released today by the IMF, “the COVID 19 pandemic is taking a heavy toll on Sierra Leone’s economy, jeopardizing hard-won gains since the Ebola health crisis,” hence today’s decision of the Executive Board of the IMF to approve the disbursement of SDR 103.7 million (US$143 million or 50 percent of quota) under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) to Sierra Leone to help meet the urgent balance of payments and fiscal needs stemming from the COVID‑19 pandemic.
The Sierra Leone authorities, the IMF says, “have taken swift action to combat the effects of the crisis, increasing health spending and social protection for the most vulnerable, as well as steps to support the private sector and secure critical supplies to address food insecurity.
Following the IMF Board’s decision to disburse the $143 million to Sierra Leone, Mr. Tao Zhang, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, said:
“The COVID‑19 pandemic puts Sierra Leone’s population at risk and is a serious blow to the economy, which has just started to recover.
With significant downside risks and a tight financing situation threatening to reverse Sierra Leone’s progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, additional grant support from the international community is urgently needed.”
