IMF chief warns of ‘dangerous divergence’ between countries in COVID recovery

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva makes remarks at an opening news conference during the IMF and World Bank’s 2019 Annual Fall Meetings of finance ministers and bank governors, in Washington, U.S., Oct. 17, 2019. (REUTERS)

PARIS — The head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Monday of a “dangerous divergence” between wealthy and developing countries as they seek to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kristalina Georgieva said that strong growth in wealthy countries like the United States was “good news” but developing countries were being held back by slow vaccination rates.

“That is danger for the coherence of growth and it is also a danger for global stability and security,” she told the Paris Peace Forum where the heads of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and World Bank also spoke.

WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala similarly expressed concerns, warning of a “K-shaped recovery” with regions like Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa that have lower vaccination rates experiencing very slow growth.

Georgieva called for the world’s 20 biggest economies (G20) to do more at a July 9-10 meeting in Venice on dose-sharing, saying a G7 pledge to donate 1 billion doses was “not enough.”

“We need to act more forcefully,” she said.