Benin : requests for disbursement under the rapid credit facility and purchase under the rapid financing instrument : press release; and staff report; and statement by the Executive Director for Benin

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected Benin. The authorities' early and decisive action has helped stave off the spread of the virus, and a sizeable fiscal response has kept a recession at bay. Nevertheless, the economy has suffered a substantial downgrade in its economic outlook, with growth slowing down from 6.9 percent in 2019 to 2 percent in 2020, against an initial projection of 7 percent before the pandemic. Large financing needs, opened by the authorities' fiscal response to the crisis, have given rise to an urgent balance of payments need