The IMF in JanuaryBut"how far it will fall and how long the impact will be is still difficult to predict," she said., which would have led to a sharp but short economic slowdown, followed by a quick recovery.
"Unfortunately over [the] past week we've seen a shift to a more adverse scenario for the global economy," due to the"sheer geographic spread of the epidemic around the world," impacting a third of the IMF's 189 member countries. The virus has infected over 93,000 people worldwide and killed more than 3,200 people, mainly in China.
Georgieva and World Bank President David Malpass spoke to reporters after a conference call of finance officials from the member nations, who directed the IMF"to use"We are determined to provide the necessary support to mitigate the impact, especially on the most vulnerable people and countries," the statement from the governing body, the IMFC, said.
Georgieva said the Washington-based development lender has $1 trillion in overall financing capacity, including $50 billion available without a formal IMF program, and $10 billion in no-interest funds for the poorest countries.Malpass told reporters"the speed and breadth of the response is crucial to its effectiveness."