On December 16, 2022, Austria disbursed a €14.9 million grant (about US$15.8 million) for the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. This contribution will allow the IMF to provide debt relief to Somalia and Sudan once all the conditions under HIPC have been met.

The HIPC Initiative was launched in 1996 by the IMF and World Bank, with the aim of ensuring that no poor country faces a debt burden it cannot manage. Since then, the international financial community, including multilateral organizations and governments, have worked together to lower to sustainable levels the external debt burdens of the most heavily indebted poor countries.

Under the HIPC Initiative, countries must meet certain criteria, commit to poverty reduction through policy changes, and demonstrate a good track record of program performance over time. The Fund and Bank provide interim debt relief in the initial stage and, when a country meets its commitments, full debt relief is provided.

Austria’s grant is part of a larger effort to provide debt relief to heavily indebted poor countries that will free up resources for social spending to help the poor.