IMF Executive Board approves $442m for Senegal

The IMF Executive Board has approved the tenth request for emergency financial assistance to help its member countries address the challenges posed by COVID-19.

The approval of the request from Senegal will make available $442m to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility and the Rapid Financing Instrument and will provide much-needed liquidity to support the authorities’ response to the crisis.

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly unfolding, with the near-term outlook deteriorating quickly.

The authorities have acted fast by putting in place strong measures to help contain the spread of the disease and mitigate the pandemic’s impact on the economy.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund approved the purchase under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) equivalent to SDR215.7m ($294.7m, 67% of quota) and a disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) equivalent to SDR 107.9m ($147.4m, 33% of quota) to help Senegal meet the urgent balance of payment needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mitsuhiro Furusawa, deputy managing director and acting chair, said in a statement that: “The COVID-19 Pandemic is having a severe impact on Senegal, creating an urgent balance-of-payments and fiscal financing need. To mitigate the impact of the pandemic, the authorities have acted fast by increasing health spending and providing targeted support to vulnerable households and firms, including through food aid, suspension of utility bill payments for the poorest, and targeted tax relief.

“The IMF’s emergency financing under the Rapid Credit Facility and the Rapid Financing Instrument will provide much-needed liquidity to support the authorities’ response to the crisis and could catalyse further assistance from the international community, preferably in the form of grants.”