IMF announces debt relief and loan for Haiti

Pamela Gomez, Oxfam International Policy Advisor, said:

"While it is welcome that the Fund is providing Haiti with debt relief it is deeply concerning that at the same time the Fund is risking a build-up of Haiti's future debt problems with a loan of $60 million. This assistance should be a grant, not another loan, which might help to bail out Haiti today but only by creating an even bigger debt problem tomorrow.

"Anyone who owns a credit card will understand that this is not a route to solvency. Haiti is an extremely poor country and the massive calamity that it suffered in January makes it a special case. The IMF's Executive Board must alter its internal rules now to allow grants to countries in exceptional circumstances, as is so obviously the case here."

Notes to editors:

• The $268 million in debt relief for Haiti will come from the Post-Catastrophic Debt Relief Trust Fund.
• A loan of $60 million – under the Extended Credit Facility – will provide the country with reserves needed to manage the exchange rate.