Executive Board International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a disbursement of about $114.8 million to South Sudan under the Food Shock Window of the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF).
This emergency financing will help South Sudan to address food insecurity while maintaining social and growth-enhancing spending, according to a stement issued by IMF on Thursday.
The Fund says four consecutive years of intense flooding and the fallout from the war in Ukraine, on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, have exacerbated an already-dire humanitarian situation in the country.
These challenges have exposed 8.3 million people – about two-thirds of the population – to acute food insecurity.
The $114.8 million disbursement is expected to provide South Sudan with fiscal space to address food insecurity while maintaining social and growth-enhancing spending as well as boosting reserves.
IMF’S Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair Kenji Okamura said the financial support “will help address urgent balance-of-payments needs and mitigate the impact of elevated food prices”.
He also welcomed South Sudanese officials’ commitment to work with international partners to ensure that part of the disbursement will provide immediate humanitarian assistance to address food insecurity in the country.
The commitment intends to channel $20 million of the disbursement through the existing systems of development partners to provide immediate humanitarian assistance.
MG/abj/APA