Coronavirus: Direct part of IMF funds into science, research – WACCBIP appeals

The Director of the West African Center for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens ( WACCBIP ) professor Gordon A. Awandare has appealed to government to direct part of the IMF Covid-19 fund for Ghana into science and medical research.

According to him, it is important the country builds the capacity of science institutions to find local solutions to medical problems.

Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Wednesday, the biologist who recently led a project to discover the DNA of the Covid-19, said there will be pandemics in the future the country must prepare for them.

“I think it is crucially important how we are responding to the emergency…for our long term survival, we need to build our own solutions to problems like that so we don’t wait for others to do it for us.

“I hope that our government will direct the some of the IMF funds to build sustainable capacity so we can deal with matters like this and we can also be ahead of situations like this because we are going to have more, there will be more in the future. We can’t wait for the pandemics to hit and then we run into actions,” he said.

IMF Support

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the disbursement of US$1 billion to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility to help Ghana’s COVID-19 fight.

According to the IMF, the COVID-19 pandemic is already impacting Ghana severely. Growth is slowing down, financial conditions have tightened, and the exchange rate is under pressure.

A statement by the IMF added that the authorities have timely and proactively responded to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana and support affected households and firms.

“The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved the disbursement of SDR 738 million (about US$1 billion) to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). The disbursement will help address the urgent fiscal and balance of payments needs that Ghana is facing, improve confidence, and catalyze support from other development partners.2

“The IMF continues to monitor Ghana’s situation closely and stands ready to provide policy advice and further support as needed…the uncertain dynamics of the pandemic creates significant risks to the macroeconomic outlook. Ghana continues to be classified at high risk of debt distress. The authorities remain committed to policies consistent with strong growth, rapid poverty reduction, and macroeconomic stability over the medium-term.

“Additional support from other development partners will be required and critical to close the remaining external financing gap and ease budget constraints.”