The COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic is an unprecedented crisis facing the world and the global economy. Its social, welfare, health and economic consequences have been felt and will be experienced for some time yet. The severity and duration of such negative consequences largely depend on several factors, including the speed at which a vaccine can be developed, the feasibility and possibility of herd immunity, the natural course of the virus’ infection trajectory, and perhaps, most importantly, the level of economic and developmental assistance as well as global partnerships in combatting the negative consequences of the virus.

This Trade Brief will detail the latter as we focus on funding in times of crisis available from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). We discuss types of funding available from the IMF and highlight their qualification criteria and attached conditions. Finally, we present an overview of emergency funding currently approved to African member states.

Readers are encouraged to quote and reproduce this material for educational, non-profit purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. All views and opinions expressed remain solely those of the author and do not purport to reflect the views of tralac.