IMF’s Georgieva warns of a worst economic downturn since Great Depression

In remarks previewing next week’s virtual meetings of the 189-nation International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned that the coronavirus pandemic will drown the global economy into the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

Key quotes

“We anticipate the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression.

The IMF will release an updated world economic forecast on Tuesday that will show just how quickly the coronavirus outbreak has turned what had been expected to be a solid year of growth into a deep downturn.

With weak health systems to begin with, many face the dreadful challenge of fighting the virus in densely populated cities and poverty-stricken slums, where social distancing is hardly an option.

I stress there is tremendous uncertainty around the outlook.

It could get worse depending on many variable factors, including the duration of the pandemic.”