Kenya to get USD173 billion special fund from IMF to cushion from global emergencies

Kenya is among 73 countries granted access to a USD173 billion special fund aimed at cushioning poor countries in times of global emergencies, according to a news report by The Star.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to the fund by rich countries and administered by the IMF is aimed at mitigating the impact of the coronavirus on their economies.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said this at the just concluded 'Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond' meeting convened by the United Nations.  

IMF head Kristalina Georgieva said the majority of the developing countries face a deepening crisis. 

The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries’ official reserves.

So far SDR 204.2 billion (equivalent to about USD 281 billion) has been allocated to members, including SDR 182.6 billion allocated in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The value of the SDR is based on a basket of five currencies—the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Chinese renminbi, the Japanese yen, and the British Sterling pound.

The SDR basket is reviewed every five years, or earlier if warranted, to ensure that the basket reflects the relative importance of currencies in the world’s trading and financial systems.