The International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization have joined forces to accelerate access to COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics by leveraging multilateral finance and trade solutions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

The aim is to vaccinate at least 40 percent of people in every country by the end of 2021, and at least 60 percent by mid-2022.  The effort will track, coordinate, and advance delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, working with governments and partners at the global and local levels to address finance and trade barriers to ensure that vulnerable populations have access to these life-saving tools. It supports the goals of the ACT-Accelerator and complementary initiatives.

The Task Force members are mobilizing critical financing, with a focus on grants and concessional lending; helping to remove barriers to...

Overall current account deficits and surpluses widened in 2020 to 3.2 percent of world GDP. The IMF’s multilateral approach suggests that global excessive imbalances were broadly unchanged in 2020 at about 1.2 percent of world GDP. The external outlook for 2021 is highly uncertain given the divergent economic prospects across countries.

Unprecedented government borrowing to finance health care and economic support has had uneven effects on current account balances. The impact on the current account balances depends on a country’s relative fiscal policy stance compared with that of its trading partners.

The outlook for global current account balances is a gradual narrowing during 2022–26, mainly reflecting a narrowing of the US deficit and China’s surplus to below pre-pandemic levels. Over the medium term, collective action is needed to reduce global imbalances in a growth-friendly manner.

By Martin Kaufman and Daniel Leigh

2020 was a year of extremes. Travel all but ceased for a period. Oil prices wildly fluctuated. Trade in medical products reached new heights. Household spending shifted to consumer goods rather than services and savings ballooned as people stayed home amid a global shutdown.

Overall current account deficits and surpluses widened in 2020 to 3.2 percent of world GDP. The IMF’s multilateral approach suggests that global excessive imbalances were broadly unchanged in 2020 at about 1.2 percent of world GDP. The external outlook for 2021 is highly uncertain given the divergent economic prospects across countries.

Unprecedented government borrowing to finance health care and economic support has had uneven effects on current account balances. The impact on the current account balances depends on a country’s relative fiscal policy stance compared with that of its trading partners.

The outlook for global current account balances is a gradual narrowing during 2022–26, mainly reflecting a narrowing of the US deficit and China’s surplus to below pre-pandemic levels. Over the medium term, collective action is needed to reduce global imbalances in a growth-friendly manner.

February 26, 2021

Tourism continues to be one of the sectors hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for countries in the Asia-Pacific region and Western Hemisphere. Governments in these regions, and elsewhere, have taken measures to ease the economic shock to households and businesses, but longer-term the industry will need to adapt to a post-pandemic “new normal.” 

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

It is time to consider significant reforms to the way the Olympics are pursued, prepared for, and hosted

When Tokyo won the right to host the 2020 Summer Olympics back in 2013, it was seen as a great honor and an opportunity to showcase the city to the world. Celebrations rang out in the streets of the Japanese capital as the city began to prepare to host the event for the first time since 1964. But the golden sheen has worn off the coming games. The Japanese government has declared a state of emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which will result in most events being held without spectators, and a majority of Tokyo citizens now want the Olympics delayed or canceled altogether. It is tempting to say that Tokyo is simply a victim of bad luck related to the ongoing global pandemic, but even before COVID-19 struck, forcing the one-year postponement of the games, the Tokyo Olympics were already suffering from massive cost overruns and were well on their way to...

Growth prospects for advanced economies this year have improved by 0.5 percentage point, but this is offset exactly by a downward revision for emerging market and developing economies driven by a significant downgrade for emerging Asia. For 2022, we project global growth of 4.9 percent, up from our previous forecast of 4.4 percent. But again, underlying this is a sizeable upgrade for advanced economies, and a more modest one for emerging market and developing economies.

We estimate the pandemic has reduced per capita incomes in advanced economies by 2.8 percent a year, relative to pre-pandemic trends over 2020-2022, compared with an annual per capita loss of 6.3 percent a year for emerging market and developing economies (excluding China).

These revisions reflect to an important extent differences in pandemic developments as the delta variant takes over. Close to 40 percent of the population in advanced economies has been fully vaccinated, compared with 11...

It is time to consider significant reforms to the way the Olympics are pursued, prepared for, and hosted

When Tokyo won the right to host the 2020 Summer Olympics back in 2013, it was seen as a great honor and an opportunity to showcase the city to the world. Celebrations rang out in the streets of the Japanese capital as the city began to prepare to host the event for the first time since 1964. But the golden sheen has worn off the coming games. The Japanese government has declared a state of emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which will result in most events being held without spectators, and a majority of Tokyo citizens now want the Olympics delayed or canceled altogether. It is tempting to say that Tokyo is simply a victim of bad luck related to the ongoing global pandemic, but even before COVID-19 struck, forcing the one-year postponement of the games, the Tokyo Olympics were already suffering from massive cost overruns and were well on their way to...

IMF Board approves new, 39-month Extended Credit Facility Arrangement (ECF) for Sudan in the amount of SDR1,733.051 million (about US$2,472.7 million). The three-year financing package will support the implementation of the authorities’ transformational reform agenda—anchoring reforms between the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Decision and Completion Points needed to support inclusive growth and poverty reduction. Reforms will focus on a continued strengthening of public finances and the social safety net, improvements in governance to foster private sector-led growth, increasing central bank independence and putting in place a framework for effective monetary policy.

In recognition of the commendable progress Sudan has made in establishing a track record of economic reform, on June 29, 2021 the IMF and World Bank approved Sudan’s eligibility for debt relief under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Debt relief will help Sudan improve its economic prospects, reduce poverty, and raise living standards for the Sudanese people. A Debt Relief Analysis (DRA) based on estimated end-2020 data targets a reduction in Sudan’s public- and publicly-guaranteed external debt to the “150 percent of exports” threshold under HIPC. Under such a scenario, assuming full application of debt relief and participation by all creditors, this would imply an estimated reduction in Sudan’s debt from $56 billion to $6 billion at Completion Point in present value terms.

### 2021 Projected Real GDP (% Change) : 0.4 2021 Projected Consumer Prices (% Change): 197.1 Country Population: 44.345 million Date of Membership: September 5, 1957...

June 29, 2021

Washington, DC: The Executive Boards of the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have determined that Sudan has taken the necessary steps to begin receiving debt relief under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Sudan is the 38th country to reach this milestone, known as the HIPC Decision Point.

Debt relief will support Sudan in implementing essential reforms to improve the lives of its people by allowing the freeing up of resources to tackle poverty and improve social conditions. Sudan’s external public debt will be irrevocably reduced—through HIPC debt relief and other debt relief initiatives anchored to the HIPC initiative—by more than US$50 billion in net present value terms, representing over 90 percent of Sudan’s total external debt—if it reaches the HIPC Completion Point in about three years’ time.

In addition, as Sudan continues on...

IMF Board approves new, 39-month Extended Credit Facility Arrangement (ECF) for Sudan in the amount of SDR1,733.051 million (about US$2,472.7 million). The three-year financing package will support the implementation of the authorities’ transformational reform agenda—anchoring reforms between the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Decision and Completion Points needed to support inclusive growth and poverty reduction. Reforms will focus on a continued strengthening of public finances and the social safety net, improvements in governance to foster private sector-led growth, increasing central bank independence and putting in place a framework for effective monetary policy.

In recognition of the commendable progress Sudan has made in establishing a track record of economic reform, on June 29, 2021 the IMF and World Bank approved Sudan’s eligibility for debt relief under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Debt relief will help Sudan improve its economic prospects, reduce poverty, and raise living standards for the Sudanese people. A Debt Relief Analysis (DRA) based on estimated end-2020 data targets a reduction in Sudan’s public- and publicly-guaranteed external debt to the “150 percent of exports” threshold under HIPC. Under such a scenario, assuming full application of debt relief and participation by all creditors, this would imply an estimated reduction in Sudan’s debt from $56 billion to $6 billion at Completion Point in present value terms.

### 2021 Projected Real GDP (% Change) : 0.4 2021 Projected Consumer Prices (% Change): 197.1 Country Population: 44.345 million Date of Membership: September 5, 1957...

This is a 404 error, which means you've clicked on a bad link or entered an invalid URL. Maybe what you are looking for can be found at Bitly.com. P.S. Bitly links are case sensitive.