CNBC Africa: IMF approves immediate debt relief for 25 countries amid COVID-19 crisis
“In the wake of the global COVID-19 crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board has approved immediate debt service relief to 25 poor and vulnerable countries…” (4/14).

Financial Times: G7 countries back debt relief for poorest nations
“G7 finance ministers and central bank governors have backed debt relief for low-income countries to help cushion their economies from the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, in a sign of the growing concerns about financial stability in emerging markets. The support for debt relief came in a virtual meeting held on Tuesday morning and chaired by Steven Mnuchin, the U.S. treasury secretary…” (Politi/Wheatley, 4/14).

Reuters: Faith groups, AFL-CIO urge U.S., IMF, G20 to cancel debt for poor countries
“The AFL-CIO union federation and nearly 80 other faith groups on Tuesday urged the U.S. government, the International Monetary Fund and G20 nations to cancel debt payments by developing countries so they could focus on fighting the coronavirus outbreak…” (Shalal, 4/14).

U.N. News: COVID-19: Growth forecast at -3 percent, as IMF offers debt relief to most vulnerable nations in Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Caribbean
“Forecasting the ‘worst economic downturn since the Great Depression,’ the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that growth for the year was likely to end up at minus three percent, with a dramatic change evident since the last World Economic Outlook report in January…” (4/14).

Washington Post: The pandemic is ravaging the world’s poor, even if they’re untouched by the virus
“…[E]ven if the virus doesn’t spread in packed cities and towns where effective social distancing is impossible, the pandemic will have already exacted a bitter price. For hundreds of millions of people suddenly stripped of livelihoods, daily wages and the means for their families’ survival, poverty may kill sooner than the coronavirus…” (Tharoor, 4/15).