(REUTERS) – The International Monetary Fund on Monday (April 13) said it would provide immediate debt service relief to 25 member countries under its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to allow them to focus their scarce resources on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in a statement said the Fund’s executive board on Monday approved the first batch of countries to receive grants to cover their debt service obligations to the Fund for an initial six months.

She said the CCRT currently had about US$500 million in resources, including new pledges of US$185 million from Britain, US$100 million from Japan, and undisclosed amounts from China, the Netherlands and others.

The Fund is pushing to raise the amount available to US$1.4 billion.