A Global Crisis Like No Other Needs A Global Response Like No Other

A global crisis like no other needs a global response like no other

- Kristalina Georgieva

I have been saying for a while that this is a “crisis like no other”. It is:

More complex, with interlinked shocks to our health and our economies that have brought our way of life to an almost complete stop;

More uncertain, as we are learning only gradually how to treat the novel virus, make containment most effective and restart our economies; and

Truly global. Pandemics neither respect borders nor the economic shocks they cause.

The outlook is dire. We expect global economic activity to decline on a scale we have not seen since the Great Depression.

This year, 170 countries will see income per capita go down—only months ago we were projecting 160 economies to register a positive per capita income growth.

Actions taken

Exceptional times call for exceptional action. In many ways, there has been a ‘response like no other’ from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) membership.

Governments all over the world have taken unprecedented action to fight the pandemic— to save lives, to protect their societies and economies. Fiscal measures so far have amounted to about US $ 8 trillion and central banks have undertaken massive (in some cases, unlimited) liquidity injections.

For our part, the IMF has US $ 1 trillion lending capacity—four times more than at the outset of the Global Financial Crisis— at the service of its 189 member countries. Recognising the characteristics of this crisis— global and fast-moving such that early action is far more valuable and impactful—we have sought to maximise our capacity to provide financial resources quickly, especially for low-income members.

In this regard, we have strengthened our arsenal and taken exceptional measures in just these two months.

These actions include: