IMF chief: Covid will widen inequality without global action

Kristalina Georgieva says support for most vulnerable countries must be stepped up

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The head of the International Monetary Fund has given a stark warning that Covid-19 will lead to a lost generation unless urgent steps are taken to prevent the pandemic widening the gap between rich and poor countries.

Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF's managing director, said financial support for the most vulnerable countries had to be stepped up to prevent long-time scarring that would roll back anti-poverty efforts of recent decades.

Related: No lost generation: can poor countries avoid the Covid trap?

Governments making health their priority to ensure a durable exit from the pandemic, with special focus on the elderly and vulnerable.

Ensuring budgets are well spent by focusing on key areas of spending - such as education - and clamping down on corruption.

Laying the foundations for the future by speeding up the transition to climate-resilient, low-carbon, digital economies.

A stepping-up of support from rich countries, which required an increase not a cut in aid resources in the form of grants, concessional loans and debt relief.