Commercial creditors 'must sign up to global debt deal' - or forgo Covid-19 help

Save the Children says banks, commodity traders and asset management firms should not extract money from poorest countries

Commercial creditors owed money by poor countries should only be eligible for government Covid-19 bailout cash if they agree to sign up to a comprehensive global debt deal, the head of one of the world's leading charities has said.

Despite signs that the G20 group of developed and developing nations are edging towards an agreement on help for the most vulnerable nations, Inger Ashing, chief executive of Save the Children International said the plan would only be fully effective if it included the private sector.

Related: IMF has no experience of recession arriving with such ferocity

Related: IMF has no experience of recession arriving with such ferocity