The International Monetary Fund approved nearly $600 million in emergency lending for Tanzania’s health system and economic-recovery efforts as the nation battles the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. The fund’s executive board approved a total of $567 million in funds -- $189 million under the Rapid Credit Facility and $378 million under the Rapid Financing Instrument. The resources will help pay for the nation’s “urgent balance of payment needs” stemming from the virus, the IMF said. “The COVID-19 outbreak has led to the collapse of the tourism sector and amplified the need for significant financing,” the Washington-based IMF said in a statement late Tuesday. The IMF said that the funds should also help spur support for the nation from other development partners. Tanzania plans to borrow almost 10.8 trillion shillings ($4.7 billion), about half of which the authorities seek to raise from external sources. The money is needed to help fund the nation’s 2021-22 budget that seeks to more than double the annual growth rate to an estimated 5.7% this year.
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