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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a 941 million U.S. dollars financial lending into Kenya, providing immediate relief to the East African nation grappling with economic challenges.

Reuters reports that the disbursement, a significant portion of which is an instant 624.5 million U.S. dollars, falls under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programs. Additionally, 60.2 million U.S. dollars will be released through the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) arrangement.

This approval brings the IMF’s total commitment to Kenya across all three facilities to over 4.4 billion U.S. dollars.

The funds aim to address Kenya’s acute liquidity issues, particularly concerning the looming maturity of a 2 billion U.S. dollars Eurobond in June, alleviating pressures on hard currency reserves.

The IMF’s decision follows a staff-level agreement with Kenyan officials in November 2023.