The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is negotiating with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund(IMF) for financial rescue package, targeted at cushioning Kenya’s economy from the vagaries of COVID-19 pandemic.

Top on the list is a $60 million emergency support from the World Bank to support the Ministry of Health. The CBK is also negotiating for a $ 350 million with the IMF for budgetary support, a facility that has no conditionalities.

The World Bank will also provide Kenya with a $750 million financial package as part of its official flows to the country, to cushion the economy from the impact of COVID-19.

“These are official flows that were not on our radar at the beginning of this year and are related to the coronavirus. While we do not know how the long this pandemic will last, the World economy is already in a recession meaning that even our GDP growth projection of 6.2 per cent no longer holds. This is why the monetary policy committee is acting to minimize the damage this economy will suffer,” said Dr Patrick Ngugi Njoroge, Governor, Central Bank of Kenya.

He made these remarks during an online media briefing, warning that the global economy is already contracting and could record negative growth this year.