Source: International Monetary Fund – IMF (video statements)
Financial markets have recovered from the recent shift in global patterns, but risks remain elevated due to high debt levels, asset overvaluation, and geopolitical uncertainties. Preserving financial stability is thus on the top of policymakers’ agendas around the world. The session will showcase that in many of the IMF’s emerging and developing member countries, including in low income and fragile states, the ability to address growing challenges to the safety and soundness of their financial systems is significantly constrained by low institutional and limited statistical capacity. Reinforcing financial sector resilience in such cases relies upon building capacity and strong partnerships, such as the Financial Sector Stability Fund, where countries’ drive for reforms meets the IMF’s expertise and the enabling support from donor partners.
Source: International Monetary Fund – IMF (video statements)
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana will reflect on Ghana’s recent macroeconomic journey—marked by external shocks, fiscal vulnerabilities, and a challenging global environment. He will outline the structure of Ghana’s economy, and the outsized role external factors have played in shaping macroeconomic outcomes. The conversation will then turn to the critical importance of fiscal reforms and the lessons drawn from Ghana’s post-2019 experience, including the consequences of overreliance on international capital markets and the impact of the Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP) on economic activity and confidence. The Governor will trace how these dynamics culminated in a loss of market access, rising inflation, and dwindling reserves—ultimately leading to a new IMF-supported program in May 2023. Looking ahead, he will highlight the institutional and policy reforms now underway to restore macroeconomic stability, rebuild confidence, and lay the foundation for a private sector-led recovery. This session offers a timely and candid look at how Ghana is staying the course to anchor inflation, lower interest rates, and foster inclusive, resilient growth.
Source: International Monetary Fund – IMF (video statements)
A panel of experts and policymakers will discuss how conflict-affected economies in the Middle East and Central Asia can rebuild. Drawing on IMF analysis, this event will explore stabilization, reforms, and external support as drivers of strong recovery and lasting peace.
Source: International Monetary Fund – IMF (video statements)
With aid levels falling and debt levels rising, low- and middle-income countries increasingly rely on domestic resources to finance the development agenda set in part by the Seville Commitment of June 2025. Capacity development is often critical for progress. The IMF’s innovative Revenue Mobilization Thematic Fund helped countries increase revenue collection until its conclusion in 2024, and now it’s time to reflect on how those successes have changed the future of capacity development. Join us to hear country leaders and our development partners explain why it thrived and show what insights shaped the next generation of partnership-powered capacity development—the Global Public Finance Partnership.
Source: International Monetary Fund – IMF (video statements)
Rising global trade tensions could have ripple effects for countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA), with the impacts varying based on each country’s trade ties and placement in global supply chains. The spillovers from these changes could grow if policy uncertainty and financial market volatility were to weigh on investor confidence and global growth. While the appropriate policy responses will differ across countries—depending on their domestic economic fundamentals, vulnerabilities, and policy space—stronger monetary and fiscal policy frameworks could help boost the ability of economies to withstand these shocks. Forthcoming chapters of the World Economic Outlook and Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East and Central Asia point to the beneficial effect of adopting inflation target monetary policy regimes with greater exchange rate flexibility and credible medium-term fiscal frameworks characterized by fiscal rules and strong and independent institutions.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Rik Peeperkorn called on “many more countries” to accept medically evacuated patients from Gaza, as well as “the restoration of the West Bank and East Jerusalem medical referral pathway.”
Discussing the data from the WHO’s new injuries and rehabilitation trends in Gaza report, Peeperkorn said, “nearly 42,000 people in the Gaza Strip have life-changing injuries caused by the ongoing conflict.”
According to the report, released today, “one in four of those injuries are in children.”
Peeperkorn, briefing reporters in New York from Deir al-Balah, in the Gaza strip, said “as new injuries mount and health needs rise, the health system teeters on the brink of collapse.”
He said, “probably 12 or 13 of Gaza 36 hospitals remain partially functional,” and “none are fully functional despite the efforts of WHO, the emergency medical teams and other health partners.”
Peeperkorn noted that Gaza “once had around 1,300 physiotherapists at 4,000 occupational therapists,” but many have been displaced, and “at least 42 have been killed.
As the Israeli incursion into Gaza City intensifies, he said, WHO evacuated 180 patients and companions, and added that “Gaza’s health system is unable to provide specialist care or services beyond the most basic emergency treatment,” and “15,600 people, including 3,008 children, need to be medevac’d.”
Peeperkorn who has worked in many health emergencies and conflict zones in a career spanning over 20 years, said, “what I’ve witnessed in Gaza, I’ve never witnessed before.”
He said, “you’ve seen the health system disintegrating incredibly rapidly. And I’m still actually surprised that with a partly or minimally working health system, how much is done.”
Asked about malnutrition, the WHO official said, “if you talk to the physicians and medical specialists in hospitals, and I’ve seen so many patients, I mean, severe trauma patients. They’ve said even the simple trauma; their wounds didn’t recover that quickly because almost all of them had a level of malnutrition.”
According to the report, life-changing injuries account for one quarter of all reported injuries of a total of 167,376 people injured since October 2023. Over 5,000 people have faced amputation. Based on a larger pool of data, the findings are consistent with WHO’s previous analysis.
Other severe injuries, including to arms and legs (over 22,000), to the spinal cord (over 2,000), to the brain (over 1,300), and major burns (more than 3,300) are also widespread, further increasing the need for specialized surgical and rehabilitation services and deeply affecting patients and their families across Gaza.
The report also highlights the prevalence of complex facial and eye injuries, especially amongst patients listed for medical evacuation outside Gaza, conditions often leading to disfigurement, disability, and social stigma.
The updated analysis draws on data from 22 WHO-supported Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs), Gaza’s Ministry of Health, and key health partners, providing a more comprehensive picture of rehabilitation needs as a result of severe trauma injuries.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (video statements)
This summer, #YourFBI and our law enforcement partners launched Operation Summer Heat, a multi-pronged offensive to crush violent crime.
By surging resources alongside state and local partners, executing federal warrants on violent criminals and fugitives, and dismantling violent gangs nationwide, the FBI is aggressively restoring safety in our communities across the country and around the globe.
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