The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will pay African countries so-caled Special Drawing Rights (SDR) valued at $33.66 billion to finance their Covid-19 vaccine acquisitions.
By Abdourahmane Diallo
Unsurprisingly, the two giants of the continent, South Africa and Nigeria, are the biggest beneficiaries of IMF’s assistance.
Pretoria and Abuja will receive $4.15 billion and $3.34 billion respectively.
They are followed by Egypt, Algeria and Libya with assets estimated at 1.95 billion SDRs ($2.77 billion), 1.88 billion SDRs ($2.66 billion) and 1.51 billion SDRs ($2.14 billion) respectively.
The top 10 largest recipients of this SDR allocation on the continent are the Democratic Republic of Congo ($1,449 million), Zambia (SDR 937.6 million/$1,330 million), Morocco (SDR 857.2 million/$1216 million), Angola (SDR 709.4 million/$1006 million) and Ghana (SDR 707.3 million/$1003 million).
In the UEMOA region, Cote d’Ivoire, thanks to its economic weight, receives the largest share with an allocation equivalent to $884.3 million, or nearly CFAF 496 billion.
It is followed by Senegal, which will be able to strengthen its foreign exchange reserves to the tune of $440 million.
In the same vein, Mali will receive $254 million, Togo $200 million, Niger $179 million, Benin $168 million and Burkina Faso $164 million.
Since August 23, 2021, the IMF has injected a record 456.5 billion SDRs estimated at $650 billion into the world economy.
Through these funds, the IMF hopes to strengthen the stability of the international monetary system in the face of the unprecedented economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This historic injection, which is the response of the Bretton Woods institution to the serious health crisis currently facing the world, is intended to supplement the foreign exchange reserves of IMF member countries.
This financial windfall presents a breath of fresh air for countries with structural current account deficits, especially developing nations.
ARD/te/lb/as/APA