The coronavirus pandemic has brought the global economy to a standstill and plunged the world into a recession that will be "way worse" than the global financial crisis a decade ago, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Friday, calling it "humanity's darkest hour."
The IMF's managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, speaking at a rare joint news conference with the leader of the World Health Organization, called on advanced economies to step up their efforts to help emerging markets and developing countries survive the economic and health impact of the pandemic.
"This is a crisis like no other," she told some 400 reporters on a video conference call. "We have witnessed the world economy coming to a standstill. We are now in recession. It is way worse than the global financial crisis" of 2008-2009.
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