MALAWI: IMF support package delayed as thousands face starvation

IMF Managing Director Horst Köhler and World Bank President James Wolfensohn have expressed their "grave concern" about the famine affecting 14 African nations in a joint letter addressed to some 24 donor countries, calling on donors to provide extra food and financial aid. Yet in contradiction to this positive statement, the IMF's tough stance on economic policy has delayed the delivery of the bulk of its $55 million support package for Malawi, citing concerns over the country's overspend, the Jubilee Debt Campaign points out.