‘A way to give developing countries more resources in a time when they need it most’ – Helping poor countries suspend their debt service payments during COVID-19

Developing countries are under tremendous strain while attempting to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

To try and free-up resources so that they can better protect lives and livelihoods, the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund in April called on creditors to allow lower income countries to suspend their bilateral debt service payments and focus resources on responding to the pandemic. The plan – called the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) – was taken up by G20 Finance Ministers.

On this edition of the Development Podcast, we hear from the World Bank Group’s Global Director for Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment, Marcello Estevão, who answers our questions on how the program works and just how effective it has been.

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