Statement by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust

IMF News, February 5, 2015

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Canonical URL: Statement by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust

Title: Statement by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust
Format and context: Speech / Press briefing; "As prepared for delivery"
Location and date: Washington D.C.—February 5, 2015
Purpose: Announce Executive Board approval of a new instrument, the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCR), to enhance support for eligible low income countries hit by public health disasters.

The Executive Board approved a new instrument called the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCR).
The CCR provides grant aid that will be used for relief on debt service payments for two years.
The CCR expands upon the Post Catastrophe Debt Relief (PCDR) Trust, which originally assisted countries hit by natural disasters like earthquakes.
The IMF becomes the first multilateral institution to provide relief to the three Ebola-affected countries through this initiative.

First leg:
- Provide expanded concessional lending in addition to the $130 million of emergency assistance extended in September 2014.
- This second round of lending will total about $160 million, subject to Board consideration later this month.
- The IMF money’s unique feature: immediate disbursement.
Second leg:
- Introduce exceptional grant support through the new CCR Trust that will be used as debt relief—for about $100 million.
Third leg:
- Call on official bilateral creditors—both Paris Club members and non-Paris Club members—to provide additional flow debt relief to the three Ebola-affected countries.

Existing resources:
- Resources to fund the IMF debt relief for the three countries are available through the former PCDR Trust.
Repurposing and outreach:
- Reaching out to all countries that provided funding to the MDRI-II, which financed the HIPC effort, urging them to approve the re-purposing of those funds for the new CCR Trust.
- Vigorously seeking commitments of bilateral support for the CCR, including during the upcoming G-20 meeting in Istanbul.
Early indications:
- Informal indication of a bilateral commitment to the CCR from one donor country; expected to serve as a catalyst for further funding commitments.

Immediate beneficiaries named in the statement: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Broader scope: Other low income countries affected by public health disasters in the future.
Stated objective: Support low income countries facing a public health crisis to help prevent potentially devastating international spillovers.
Rationale emphasized: Demonstration of the IMF’s flexibility, innovation and commitment to the health systems and human needs of some of the most vulnerable member countries.

Statement by Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund — February 5, 2015.