Africa needs more than $200 billion to respond to pandemic, UN chief says
To mobilize more resources, he said the IMF should allocate new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)
Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres speaks during a Security Council meeting about the situation in Syria at UN Headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday urged creditors to grant a debt standstill for all developing countries, not just the poorest, warning that many faced debt distress due to a global recession triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Guterres told a virtual conference on Africa hosted by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund that the continent needed more than $200 billion to respond to the pandemic and mitigate its economic impact.
To mobilize more resources, he said the IMF should allocate new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), a step that has been opposed by the United States. An SDR allocation is akin to a central bank "printing" new money.
