SDRs are a useful tool to plug fiscal gaps, meet external debt obligations, or address foreign exchange shortages. For example, if Liberia is facing a foreign currency crunch, it can sell a portion of its SDRs to France – in exchange for euros – and use those euros to pay for imported goods, such as fertiliser.

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Explore how Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) are an important financing tool for African countries to respond to ongoing and future crises. SDRs are an IMF tool that provide a much needed injection of liquidity, without adding to debt burdens.

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ONE is actively tracking new country pledges towards the US$100 billion commitment. The table below is updated regularly based on the latest publicly available information. Our latest tally shows a total commitment of about US$81 billion, excluding the US pledge of US$21 billion because it has not been authorised by the US Congress. This differs from other reporting, including infrequent G20 statements, that count the US commitment.

Backlighting is where you are illuminating your subject from the back, as opposed to from the front, or the side. Working with backlight you can silhouette your subject, or give them a glow. To Silhouette your subject, you would meter for the sky and to create a glow around your subject, you would meter for the subject itself. You need to place your subject in front of your preferred light source and allow that light to illuminate your subject. If you are using the sun as your light source, different times of the day will give you different types of backlighting. The lower the sun falls, the softer the light will feel. You may find that sometimes you will have to move yourself into a position where your camera can autofocus or switch to full manual, as the light can be so strong that your focusing point struggles to find what it is you want to focus on.

is a lifestyle photographer from Yorkshire, UK. She has owned her own photography business since 2011 and became seriously interested in photography in 2009. Her work has been featured in various magazines and blogs. You can view more of her portfolio on her website, and more of her personal work at on her blog.

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SDRs are allocated according to a country’s IMF quota, which broadly reflects its relative size in the global economy. That means advanced economies — which have the least need — received the lion’s share of the US$650 billion. Africa received only 5% of the total, roughly US$33 billion in SDRs, while the G20 and other advanced economies collectively received over US$500 billion. In 2021, G7 countries (and later affirmed by the G20) committed to channel US$100 billion of their SDRs (or equivalent contributions) to countries most in need, including in Africa.

The PRGT currently provides zero interest rate loans to low-income countries. The RST was established specifically to facilitate the channelling of SDRs. It provides affordable loans to help low-income and vulnerable middle-income countries address long-term structural challenges, including climate change and pandemic preparedness. Combined, these trust funds can absorb and channel about US$60 billion of the US$100 billion pledge.

SDRs are a type of reserve asset issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help supplement countries’ official reserves. They provide a much needed injection of financial liquidity without adding to debt burdens. While they are not cash, they can be traded for hard currency such as dollars, pounds, or euros.

The IMF has set fundraising targets for PRGT and RST loan resources and additional money – or subsidy resources – that they need to facilitate the zero-interest PRGT loans. While they have had success so far, they are still short of their targets.

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By the end of June 2023, the RST had secured total pledges of SDR 31.2 billion, of which SDR 27.6 billion counts toward the SDR 33 billion RST fundraising target; this corresponds to 84% of the targeted contributions that will be loaned to countries.

Reflected light can be found everywhere, on most surfaces. Reflected light is literally the light that is reflected from a particular surface or material. If you were to shoot a portrait next to a white building, the light hitting the building would be reflected on to your subject, creating a soft light. If you were in the middle of the red Moroccan Atlas Mountains and you were to shoot a portrait, there would be a softer red reflection coming onto your subject from the ground. Or, if you were doing a portrait session outside and you wanted to bounce some additional light into your subject’s face, you could use an actual reflector. They normally come in two colours; one side gold, and one side white.

Notably, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, has repeatedly underscored that SDR channelling via MDBs is not possible for eurozone countries. She contends that doing so would risk the SDR’s reserve asset status and potentially be incompatible with the EU’s rule that central banks cannot finance government spending.

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The below visualisation shows the status and key features of country requests for financing from the RST. To date, 15 countries have formally requested support. Only four countries have received disbursements.

To realise the full US$100 billion commitment beyond the PRGT and RST, more channelling options must be unlocked. Multilateral development banks (MDBs) are an attractive and viable option to channel the remainder because they can leverage loaned SDRs to mobilise additional capital.

Advanced economies primarily channel (or on-lend) their SDRs through two IMF trust funds: the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) and the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST).

This particular image shows the use of diffused lighting, using the shade of the building to soften the light, while also reflecting light shades back to the subject.

A confluence of crises is reversing hard-earned development gains. The historic August 2021 allocation of US$650 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) offered a critical and sizeable source of financing to help countries weather and recover from these shocks.

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The African Development Bank (AfDB), with the Inter-American Development Bank, has put forward a proposal to use SDRs as part of a hybrid capital instrument that could be leveraged on commercial markets to raise three to four times the value of the loaned SDRs. For instance, every US$100 million of SDRs could be leveraged into as much as US$400 million of low-cost loans to African countries. If successful, this plan would magnify the impact of SDRs and provide a template that other MDBs could replicate.

The AfDB is seeking an initial total contribution of SDR 2.5 billion. While a few advanced economies have expressed interest, none have officially pledged, largely due to legal constraints.

The majority of African governments have disclosed how they are using their SDRs. This includes boosting their foreign exchange reserves, enhancing health and social protection systems, or paying off debt. The map below shows African countries’ current SDR holdings, shown as a percentage of their total SDR allocations. You can explore countries’ cumulative and current holdings by clicking on each country.

Another proposal – put forward by Brad Setser and Stephen Paduano – is for the World Bank to issue SDR-denominated bonds. This mechanism would enable countries with excess SDRs to purchase bonds, which would accrue interest to offset the interest costs associated with holding SDRs. The Bank would then convert the SDRs into hard currencies via the IMF. That money could then be used to help countries in need.

Light: it is the main component for every image that you will take. It does however come in many different forms, producing very different results. Some of these types of light are diffused, backlit and reflected. There will be times when each of these types of light is more readily available than another, or even in some cases multiple types of light at once. Some people create their full photographic style by using a certain type more, or less, exclusively in their work. But, knowing how to first spot the different light forms will allow you to take full of advantage of every scenario and add depth, variety and a sense of individuality to your images.

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Demand for PRGT and RST financing is projected to be strong both in the short- and long-term. During the 2023 Spring Meetings, Managing Director Georgieva noted that 44 countries have expressed interest in RST support. IMF staff anticipate a robust PRGT request pipeline for 2023, almost double what was estimated in 2022, though no data has been provided.

In early August 2023, the IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva announced that the PRGT’s fundraising target of SDR 12.6 billion for loan resources had been reached. However, there is a sizable shortfall for subsidy resources, which are needed to facilitate the zero-interest PRGT loans. By end-July 2023, the PRGT had secured SDR 1.38 billion in subsidy pledges toward its SDR 2.3 billion fundraising target, or 60% of its target. Due to rapidly rising interest rates, the IMF now estimates that SDR 3.5 billion in subsidy resources is needed.

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You can use diffused lighting to your advantage in a great way. If you are shooting portraits on an overcast (diffused) day, you are pretty much shooting with nature’s own softbox. You will be able to work with your subject easier, and have different angles to shoot from, because you won’t be limited by the harsh lines and shadows that undiffused light can create. Overcast (diffused) lighting is preferred by many photographers, as it is a flat and even light. If it were a particularly sunny and bright day, shooting in the shade would also offer you some diffused lighting.

Diffused light that which is not harsh and direct, it has been softened in some way. A great example is when you are outside and the sun is shining, with no clouds in the sky. The light is harsh and you will notice that there will be a lot shadows falling on or around your subject. But, if clouds are in the sky and they block out some of that harsh sunlight, the light then becomes diffused.