International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva pinpointed mass vaccination as the prime goal that countries around the world should pursue this year. The global economy will be able to get back on track at a much faster pace on condition that most of the population across the globe is properly vaccinated.
“Vaccine policy this year, probably next year, is going to be the most important economic policy, may beat even monetary and fiscal policy in terms of significance,” Kristalina Georgieva said at the Global Evolve Summit arranged by CNBC. “A prerequisite to bring the world to a sustained high level of growth everywhere is to vaccinate all people and that’s not yet done,” the IMF chief added.
Back in April, experts at the lending institution noted that the end of the crisis was “increasingly visible”. They pointed out that higher vaccination rates and current monetary and fiscal stimulus should set the stage for a rapid recovery in the global economy. On such conditions, IMF experts predict a global GDP growth of 6% for 2021 and 4.4% for the next year. Importantly, the forecasts could be implemented in practice provided that governments push ahead with vaccination programs in all countries, including in low-income nations.
The IMF also attaches importance to the fair investment to ensure a faster rollout of vaccines. The lending institution is ready to provide $50 billion for this purpose that will eventually bring returns of $9 trillion for the global economy. The IMF stance on worldwide vaccination is echoed by Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief. He insists that advanced economies have to share coronavirus vaccines with less developed countries.
