The International Monetary Fund’s executive board has approved the extension of $115 million in debt relief to 25 eligible low-income countries from January 11 to April 13 next year in an effort to help them ride out pandemic-induced headwinds. Approval of the fifth and final tranche of debt service relief from the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) brings the total two-year Covid-related debt relief since April 2020 to $964m, the Washington-based lender said in a statement. The four previous tranches were approved on April 13, 2020, October 2, 2020, and April 1 and October 6 this year. “This helps free up scarce financial resources for vital health, social and economic support to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the fund said. The damage from the Covid-19 pandemic has been greater than that from the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, most notably in Africa and South Asia, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development. Renewed international support is needed for developing countries facing the threat of a “lost decade” amid an uneven global economic recovery, the fund said in September. The recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic remains “hobbled” and the world economy could sustain as much as $5.3 trillion in losses over the next five years if the vaccine divide is not reduced, the IMF said.