By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS / DC, April 17 -- At the International Monetary Fund's annual meeting's Asia and Pacific press conference on April 17, Inner City Press asked, "on Vanuatu, it's said that even after Cyclone Pam the country is not eligible for the IMF's Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust. Is that true, and what could be done given that only two small-island states are eligible, despite high debts and storm risks?"
The IMF's Hoe Ee Khor replied that "We have a mission in Vanuatu right now. We are in the process of trying to draw up the program. The amount we have access to is 22 million SDR. It's small relative to the size of the damages.” Video here.
He said the IMF is working on the “macro economic framework” which may trigger more financing from Australia, New Zealand and other IFIs like the ADB and World Bank.
There is a similar problem at the World Bank, with countries like Lebanon and Jordan and some in West Africa not eligible for financing needed to deal with refugees. And now more refugees are being created, for example from Yemen.
Back on March 26 amid the ongoing airstrikes in Yemen, Inner City Press asked the IMF again about the status of its program in the country.
IMF Deputy Spokesperson William Murray said that the first review is postponed until things clarify. And now?
