IMF to boost lending to poor countries
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced fresh measures to assist poor countries in tackling the global economic downturn. The IMF says it will increase lending by up to US$17 billion between now and 2014, and will suspend interest on some loans to low income countries until 2011.
The fresh measures are partly in response to calls for greater lending voiced by the G20 countries at their April summit. IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that this level of support for poorer countries was ‘unprecedented.' He added that the measure should prevent millions of people falling into poverty. US$8 billion will be made available in the next two years.
Source: Panos London
