The G20 has welcomed a commitment from the IMF to provide $300m (£190m) in extra funding to help fight Ebola in the three worst-affected west African countries.
The IMF money for Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia will come through “a combination of concessional loans, debt relief, and grants,” according to a statement issued by the world leaders’ summit, being held in Brisbane.
The G20 also claimed to be “committed to do what is necessary to ensure the international effort can extinguish the outbreak,” while pointedly urging “governments that have yet to do so to join in providing financial contributions, appropriately qualified and trained medical teams and personnel, medical and protective equipment, and medicines and treatments.”
The US had been pressing the IMF to offer $100m in debt relief to the three countries.
The British prime minister, David Cameron, has joined the US in pushing to put Ebola on the agenda of a summit that Australia had been trying to focus rigidly on economic growth and jobs.
The IMF has already agreed to provide $130m of emergency financial assistance, including $48.3m to Liberia, $41.4m to Guinea and $39.8m to Sierra Leone. It is also empowered to offer debt relief in such emergencies if required.
The IMF had previously estimated the epidemic would be brought under control by the first quarter of 2015, but now believed this was likely to be the second half of the year, increasing the cost to the countries affected. It has forecasted that growth estimates for the three countries is likely to be downgraded.
The US Treasury secretary, Jack Lew, welcomed the IMF’s announcement of extra cash: “The IMF’s expanded support, including debt relief, for Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone will free-up critical resources in these countries for both immediate economic needs and longer-term recovery efforts.”
