{
  "title": "Press Release: IMF Announces Unprecedented Increase in Financial Support to Low-Income Countries",
  "publication": "IMF News, July 29, 2009",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr09268",
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  "summary": "Announcement date: July 29, 2009",
  "publishDate": "2009-07-29",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Overview and purpose",
      "content": "- Announcement date: July 29, 2009\n- Press Release No.: 09/268\n- Purpose: To sharply increase resources available to low-income countries in response to the global economic crisis, including measures to prevent millions from falling into poverty."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Major financial commitments and key figures",
      "content": "- Scaled-up concessional lending capacity: up to $17 billion through 2014.\n- Initial tranche: up to $8 billion in the first two years.\n- Comparison to G20 call: exceeds the G20 call for $6 billion in new lending over two to three years.\n- Interest relief: zero payments through end-2011 on the IMF’s concessional facilities for all low-income members.\n- Proposed general SDR allocation: $250 billion (Executive Board backed the Managing Director's proposal).\n- Share for low-income countries from SDR allocation: more than $18 billion to bolster foreign exchange reserves.\n- Mobilization needs to meet new commitments:\n  - Additional loan resources: SDR 9 billion from bilateral contributions.\n  - New subsidy resources: SDR 1.5 billion from IMF internal resources (including revenue from envisaged gold sales and bilateral contributions)."
    },
    {
      "heading": "New lending instruments and their purposes",
      "content": "- Extended Credit Facility: provides flexible medium-term support.\n- Standby Credit Facility: addresses short-term and precautionary needs.\n- Rapid Credit Facility: offers emergency support with limited conditionality."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Concessionality, interest rates, and permanent changes",
      "content": "- The increase includes permanently higher concessionality of Fund financial support.\n- A mechanism will be established for updating interest rates after 2011."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Program design, conditionality, and policy emphasis",
      "content": "- Greater emphasis on poverty reduction and growth objectives across all new lending instruments, including targets to safeguard social and other priority spending.\n- Structural conditionality streamlined for all Fund-supported programs.\n- Structural conditionality in medium-term, low-income country programs will become more flexible and focused on core goals tailored to each country.\n- IMF-supported programs have accommodated larger fiscal deficits during the crisis in most low-income countries."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Rationale and expected impact",
      "content": "- The measures respond to the global crisis that has hit low-income nations hard, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.\n- IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn characterized the package as \"an unprecedented scaling up of IMF support for the poorest countries\" and as a \"historic set of actions\" to help prevent increased poverty and support recovery.\n\nSource: Press Release No. 09/268, July 29, 2009\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- Pr09268apdf (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- Pr09268cpdf (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- Pr09268jpdf (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n- Pr09268rpdf (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\n References\n\n- Press Releases\n- PRESS CENTER\n- Podcast: More for the Poor\n- Gold sale\n- What's the result\n- Diversity of reforms\n- Zero interest\n- Unprecedented\n- Africa growth rate\n- IMF Backs New Package To Support World's Poorest During Crisis\n- The IMF Response to the Global Crisis: Meeting the Needs of Low-Income Countries\n- The IMF and Low-Income Countries in the Global Crisis\n- IMF Reforms Financial Facilities for Low-Income Countries\n- IMF Support For Low-Income Countries\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr09268"
    }
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    "Published: July 29, 2009",
    "Announcement date: July 29, 2009",
    "Press Release No.: 09/268",
    "Purpose: To sharply increase resources available to low-income countries in response to the global economic crisis, including measures to prevent millions from falling into poverty.",
    "Scaled-up concessional lending capacity: up to $17 billion through 2014.",
    "Initial tranche: up to $8 billion in the first two years.",
    "Comparison to G20 call: exceeds the G20 call for $6 billion in new lending over two to three years.",
    "Interest relief: zero payments through end-2011 on the IMF’s concessional facilities for all low-income members.",
    "Proposed general SDR allocation: $250 billion (Executive Board backed the Managing Director's proposal).",
    "Share for low-income countries from SDR allocation: more than $18 billion to bolster foreign exchange reserves.",
    "Mobilization needs to meet new commitments:",
    "Extended Credit Facility: provides flexible medium-term support.",
    "Standby Credit Facility: addresses short-term and precautionary needs.",
    "Rapid Credit Facility: offers emergency support with limited conditionality.",
    "The increase includes permanently higher concessionality of Fund financial support.",
    "A mechanism will be established for updating interest rates after 2011.",
    "Greater emphasis on poverty reduction and growth objectives across all new lending instruments, including targets to safeguard social and other priority spending.",
    "Structural conditionality streamlined for all Fund-supported programs.",
    "Structural conditionality in medium-term, low-income country programs will become more flexible and focused on core goals tailored to each country.",
    "IMF-supported programs have accommodated larger fiscal deficits during the crisis in most low-income countries.",
    "The measures respond to the global crisis that has hit low-income nations hard, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.",
    "IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn characterized the package as \"an unprecedented scaling up of IMF support for the poorest countries\" and as a \"historic set of actions\" to help prevent increased poverty and support recovery.",
    "[Pr09268apdf (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/arabic/np/sec/pr/2009/pr09268apdf.pdf){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}",
    "[Pr09268cpdf (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/chinese/np/sec/pr/2009/pr09268cpdf.pdf){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}",
    "[Pr09268jpdf (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/japanese/np/sec/pr/2009/pr09268jpdf.pdf){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}",
    "[Pr09268rpdf (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported/external/russian/np/sec/pr/2009/pr09268rpdf.pdf){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}",
    "[Press Releases](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)",
    "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)",
    "[Podcast: More for the Poor](https://www.imf.org/external/audio/2009/LIC/MoreForthePoor.zip)",
    "[Gold sale](https://www.imf.org/external/audio/2009/LIC/DSKGoldSale.zip)",
    "[What's the result](https://www.imf.org/external/audio/2009/LIC/DSKWhatstheResult.zip)",
    "[Diversity of reforms](https://www.imf.org/external/audio/2009/LIC/RezaDiversityofReforms.zip)",
    "[Zero interest](https://www.imf.org/external/audio/2009/LIC/RezaInterestRate.zip)",
    "[Unprecedented](https://www.imf.org/external/audio/2009/LIC/RezaUnprecedentedMeasures.zip)",
    "[Africa growth rate](https://www.imf.org/external/audio/2009/LIC/SayehAfricaGrowthRate.zip)",
    "[IMF Backs New Package To Support World's Poorest During Crisis](https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2009/pol072909a.htm)",
    "[The IMF Response to the Global Crisis: Meeting the Needs of Low-Income Countries](https://www.imf.org/external/np/lic/2009/072909.htm)",
    "[The IMF and Low-Income Countries in the Global Crisis](https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/faq/licfaqs.htm)",
    "[IMF Reforms Financial Facilities for Low-Income Countries](https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/2009/pn0994.htm)",
    "[IMF Support For Low-Income Countries](https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/poor.htm)",
    "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)"
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