WASHINGTON, Dec 11, CMC – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Haiti faces an unprecedented multidimensional crisis encompassing humanitarian, economic, social, and security problems.
It said that the economy of the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country has a low tax base and a large informal sector that relies heavily on volatile remittance flows.
The IMF, whose executive board has just completed Article IV Consultation with Haiti, said that since the last 2019 Article IV consultation, the country has suffered a series of shocks, including the pandemic; a devastating earthquake in 2021; cholera outbreaks; and the economic spillovers of the war in Ukraine, which led to a food crisis that triggered acute hunger.
“The severe deterioration of security over the last few years has magnified these problems leading to a surge in the number of displaced people within and outside Haiti and to a significant drop in potential growth.”
The Washington-based financial institution said that Haiti’s macroeconomic outlook is challenging and subject to elevated uncertainty.
(Details in Business section)
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