G7 eyes allocating $100 bn from IMF funds to Covid-ravaged countries

The United States and other Group of Seven nations are considering reallocating $100 billion from the International Monetary Fund’s warchest to help countries struggling most to cope with the Covid-19 crisis, the White House said.

The issue will be on the table when G7 leaders discuss how to help steer the world’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic at a three-day summit in Cornwall, in southwestern England, which begins on Friday.

“The United States and our G7 partners are actively considering a global effort to multiply the impact of the proposed Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation to the countries most in need,” the US president’s office said.

“At potentially up to $100 billion in size, the proposed effort would further support health needs – including vaccinations – and help enable greener, more robust economic recoveries in vulnerable countries, and promote a more balanced, sustained, and inclusive global recovery.”

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called on the other G7 nations to find an agreement on reallocating $100 billion in SDRs to African states.

World finance chiefs agreed in April to boost SDRs by $650 billion and extend a debt-servicing freeze to help developing countries deal with the pandemic, although only $34 billion was to be allocated to Africa.