The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a disbursement to Haiti under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) equivalent to SDR 81.9 million (US$111.6 million, 50 percent of quota) to help cover balance of payment needs stemming from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic has worsened an already weak economic outlook for Haiti.
An expected sharp drop in remittance flows, reduction in textile exports, and drop in FDI will put significant strain on the balance of payments.
Additional direct health and social expenditures, together with a further drop in fiscal revenues will add to the fiscal deficit and financing needs.
IMF support will help cover some of this need and allow the government to ease the impact on the population, such as paying salaries of some teachers and workers, providing cash transfers and food rations to households, and providing subsidies to the transport and sanitation sectors.