JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The World Bank said it has approved a $275 million grant to Zambia to help the southern African nation recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the spillovers from the war in Ukraine and emerge from its debt crisis.
Zambia was the first African country to default during the COVID-19 era as it struggled with mounting external debt.
The International Monetary Fund in late August approved a $1.3 billion, three-year loan to Zambia, a crucial step in the country’s quest to restructure its debts.
“As Zambia seeks debt relief under the G20 Common Framework, I urge official bilateral and private sector creditors to agree promptly on a deep debt reduction that… brings public debt to sustainable levels,” World Bank Group President David Malpass said in a statement.
(Reporting by Chris Mfula and Bhargav Acharya; editing by James Macharia Chege)
