KARACHI – Former President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt on Friday said coronavirus has damaged the global economy and now IMF and other international institutions are bent upon destroying developing countries through their negative policies.
Poor countries are facing healthcare crisis, falling exports, high commodity prices, increased borrowing, balance of payment crisis and reduced revenue due to pandemic but they are not being bailed out, he said.
Pandemic has resulted in massive economic contraction but rich nations and international institutions have so far preferred not to help them but rely on cosmetic measures, he added.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that rich nations are not contributing positively to the situation but trying to get maximum benefit out of it which is pushing millions below the poverty line.
He noted that there is a limit to austerity and developed nations should realise that their old prescription will not work in this new situation.
Poor countries in Asia and Africa need $450 billion assistance to face the impact of pandemic and combat poverty but it is nowhere to be seen.
The business leader noted that the International Development Association, the lending arm of the World Bank, is still preferring lending to the private sector avoiding poor countries which is unfortunate.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that developed world has surplus resources and more vaccines than needed but they are not ready to help poor countries so that they can come out of the external debt overhang.
So far poor countries have injected just two percent of their adults because they are being denied vaccines, while rich countries have already fully immunised more than 60 percent of their population and they continue to monopolise access to doses for their own motives.
