International Financial Assistance is Trickling in for Belize’s COVID-19 Response

Dean Barrow

The economy has been ravaged by the COVID-19 and up to date, not all the assistance sought from the international financial institutions has been received including from  International Monetary Fund  which has placed the country at number eighty-eight on the list of nations seeking aid.  Prime Minister Barrow said on Sunday that monies are already beginning to come in.  According to PM, the World Bank has approved thirteen of twenty-one million dollars that Belize has applied to borrow.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“I think we’re beginning to have great success in terms of flows from the IFIs, we just had confirmation from OFID that the ten million U.S. that we asked for so that the food assistance programme can continue right through to the end of the year, that’s been approved.  I’ll go to the house, if not this Friday, sometime next week so that we can get the parliamentary approval.  The thirteen million dollars of the twenty-one from the World Bank, that has now been approved.  There is eight more for agriculture.  There are things happening that will put me in a position and when I say me, I mean the government, the authorities, in a position to be able to do more in terms of relief for people and I absolutely want to see that through.”