IMF approved debt relief to provide US$ 7.63 million (SDR 5.48 million) over the next 3 months, and potentially up to US$ 24.97 million ( SDR 17.96 million) in the next 21 months. The debt service relief will help free up resources for public sector health needs including other emergency spending and help mitigate the balance of payments shock resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic is affecting Burundi through an evolving domestic outbreak and economic spillovers from the global and regional environment. Economic growth projections for 2020 have been revised down by 5.3 percentage points to -3.2 per cent in 2020. The Pandemic has exacerbated preexisting economic challenges and creates significant external financing needs in 2020 and 2021, mainly as a result of lower exports, elevated imports needs, and reduced remittances inflows.
Data Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF)