The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with South Sudan to provide around $112.7 million in emergency financing under the international agency's new Food Shock Window to address food insecurity, enhance social spending, and raise international reserves.
An IMF staff team left South Sudan on November 17 after discussions with the authorities on an existing Staff-Monitored Program (SMP), and on the country's request for emergency financing to address urgent balance of payments needs, the international agency said in a statement Tuesday.
According to IMF data, an estimated 8.3 million people, comprising two-thirds of the population of South Sudanese, will experience extreme food insecurity in 2022 due to ongoing domestic violence, four years of severe flooding, and rising prices for basic goods due to the conflict in Ukraine.
To address this crisis, the authorities will collaborate with experienced partners to channel $20 million of the disbursement approved for immediate humanitarian assistance to help tackle food insecurity, according to the IMF.
With this disbursement, the total outstanding credit under emergency financing instruments to South Sudan will stand at 100% of its quota at the IMF. The agency previously authorized $174 million in emergency assistance to South Sudan in April last year.
“The IMF mission is encouraged by the actions taken by the Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Bank of South Sudan since August 2022 to restore fiscal discipline and rein in money growth, which has stabilized the exchange rate in recent months," said the IMF.
"Going forward, it will be critical for the authorities to continue prudent fiscal and monetary policies and to consolidate and build on the first steps taken under the SMP to improve public financial management."
