Haiti: Request for Disbursement Under the Rapid Credit Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Haiti

IMF Staff Country Reports, April 20, 2020

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Canonical URL: Haiti: Request for Disbursement Under the Rapid Credit Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Haiti

This paper discusses Haiti’s Request for Disbursement Under the Rapid Credit Facility.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses a major challenge for Haiti, a country in a fragile situation with very limited healthcare services, just emerging from two years of socio-political instability and worsening economic hardship.
Measures are being taken by the government to stop the spread of the virus and to cushion the economic impact of the shock.
IMF emergency support under the Rapid Credit Facility will help fill the balance of payments gap and create fiscal space for essential health expenditures, income support to workers, and cash and in-kind transfers to households.
Scarce budgetary resources will need to be allocated to critical spending on disease containment and increased social assistance to the most vulnerable.

COVID-19 represents a major challenge given Haiti’s fragile situation and very limited healthcare services.
The country is just emerging from two years of socio-political instability and worsening economic hardship.
IMF emergency support under the Rapid Credit Facility is identified as a means to:
- fill the balance of payments gap,
- create fiscal space for essential health expenditures,
- provide income support to workers,
- enable cash and in-kind transfers to households.

Reallocate scarce budgetary resources to critical spending on disease containment and increased social assistance to the most vulnerable.
To ensure appropriate use of emergency financing:
- The authorities should prepare monthly budget execution reports on COVID-19 expenditures.
- The authorities should undertake an ex-post financial and operational audit of COVID-related operations.

Subject: Banking, Budget planning and preparation, COVID-19, Credit, External debt, Health, Money, Public debt, Public financial management (PFM)
Keywords: Budget planning and preparation, COVID-19, CR, Credit, financing, financing gap, Global, Haitian authorities, IMF financing support, IMF staff, IMF support, ISCR, RCF disbursement