Tagged: International Monetary Fund
The IMF will issue a $450 million loan to Pakistan which risks plunging Pakistan into debt that it can ill-afford. Oxfam is calling for the cancellation of all multilateral and bilateral loans to Pakistan, and for debt relief to be given on emergency assistance from the IMF.
Contrary to the positive picture painted by the International Monetary Fund in its 2010 World Economic Outlook, poor countries are being forced to cut back on their economic crisis-response spending too soon.
Poor countries are being forced to cut back on their economic crisis-response spending too soon. Education and social protection budgets are particularly badly affected. Oxfam is calling on the IMF to take steps to reverse this trend.
The fact that the IMF is proposing that adaptation efforts are funded by grants rather than loans is positive. But this will only work if developed countries ensure the money is there to resource this vital assistance to vulnerable countries.
The World Bank and the IMF must cushion developing countries from the financial crisis that is threatening to hit them hard, while also tackling the challenges of food and fuel price increases, said international agency Oxfam today.

