Policy Papers

This paper provides an update of the adequacy of the resources of the Fund’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) and the debt relief trusts. Demand for PRGT loans continued to exceed earlier projections. Total PRGT credit outstanding reached SDR 18.3 billion at end-2023, or three times the pre-pandemic average. PRGT fundraising targets under the 2021 two-stage funding strategy to support LICs during the pandemic and beyond were met. Work is underway to implement the pledges. Ensuring PRGT long-term sustainability is a priority, and balancing a level of PRGT lending that meets the demand from eligible countries while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Trust will be taken up in the ongoing PRGT Review. The Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) remains severely underfunded, after providing debt relief to the IMF’s poorest and most vulnerable members during 2020–22. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative is nearly complete. Somalia reached its Completion Point under the HIPC Initiative in December 2023, while Sudan’s prospects for reaching its HIPC Completion Point remain uncertain owing to domestic developments.