## 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](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp020515)

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: February 5, 2015

---

### Overview
- 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.

### Key decisions and instrument design
- 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.

### Three-leg approach proposed to G-20 leaders (Brisbane)
- 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.

### Financing and resource mobilization
- 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.

### Target beneficiaries and expected impact
- 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.*

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## References

- [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)
- [Christine Lagarde](https://www.imf.org/external/np/omd/bios/cl.htm)
- [Press Release: IMF Establishes a Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to Enhance Support for Eligible Low Income Countries Hit by Public Health Disasters](https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2015/pr1534.htm)
- [IMF Survey: IMF to Provide Grants for $100 Million in Debt Relief to Ebola-hit Countries](https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2015/NEW020515A.htm)
- [Podcast: IMF Grants Help Ebola-hit Countries Drive Down Debt](https://www.imf.org/external//pubs/ft/survey/so/SinglePodcastHighlight.aspx?podcastid=336)
- [Webcast](https://www.imf.org/external/mmedia/view.aspx?vid=4034436959001)
- [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp020515_