Although the pandemic has caused upheavals and hardship around the world, it has fallen particularly hard on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Vaccine availability has been far more limited in LMICs than in rich countries, and the refrigeration facilities needed to store the most effective vaccines are severely limited. In many LMICs, healthcare workers are scarce, the facilities for treating COVID-19 patients are inadequate, and public-health systems are poorly organised, funded, and administered.

Nor are the difficulties limited to health. In many LMICs, poor economic-policy choices have led to inflation, fiscal deficits, balance-of-payments difficulties, and heavy debt-servicing obligations. While some financing has been forthcoming from individual high-income countries, international financial institutions, and NGOs, it has not been enough.

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20220123/anne-krueger-futility-unconditional-debt-support