RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The new coronavirus pandemic is having a worse impact on emerging countries than the 2008 global financial crisis. According to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Director-General Kristalina Georgieva, almost US$90 billion (R$450 billion) has already been withdrawn from emerging markets during the pandemic.
“Never in the history of the IMF have we seen the world economy in this situation,” said Georgieva in an announcement to the press. “It is one of the darkest moments of humanity, a great threat to the whole world. It requires us to stand united and protect the most vulnerable,” she said.
The IMF is working with the World Bank and other financial institutions in an effort to mitigate the economic losses caused by the pandemic, which has already infected more than a million people around the world. One of the strategies is to have central banks in developed countries help banks in emerging and developing countries.
According to Georgieva, over 90 countries have so far requested financial aid from international funds. “We have never seen such growth in demand coming from emerging countries,” she said.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), warned of the profound consequences that countries not taking quarantine seriously could suffer, saying that governments relaxing or ending quarantine too soon could face even more severe and prolonged effects on the economy.
“The best way for countries to alleviate the economic effects of the pandemic is to fight the virus”.
Source: Exame