KATHMANDU: To tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved $500 million on Monday to cancel six months of debt payments for 25 of the world’s most impoverished countries so they can help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

IMF Executive Director Kristalina said that the IMF executive board approved the immediate debt service relief for Nepal, 19 African countries, Afghanistan, Haiti, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan and Yemen in a statement.

Georgieva said, “This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts.”

She said the money will come from the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust, which will use recent pledges of $185 million from the United Kingdom and $100 million from Japan. She urged other donors to help replenish the trust’s resources.

The 19 African countries to receive debt relief are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, São Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and a group of 165 former global leaders and prominent international figures have urged the suspension of debt repayments for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries so they can use their scant resources for the coronavirus crisis.