IMF approves changes to enable debt service relief for poorest countries

The International Monetary Fund on Friday said its executive board had approved changes that would allow it to provide up to two year's of debt service relief to its poorest and most vulnerable members as they respond to the coronavirus outbreak.

The IMF said it had expanded the qualification criteria for its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) to reflect the circumstances created by the pandemic.

As a result, all member countries with per capita income below the World bank's operational threshold for concessional support would now be eligible for debt service relief for up to two years, it said in a statement.