Should IMF do more than put out fires? The debate looms large

As the International Monetary Fund gets set for its annual meeting, economists ask if it's time to update its mandate as the world's financial crisis responder

Lopsided access to vaccinations, extreme economic inequality, rising food prices and staggering debt are on the agenda when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank gather for their annual meetings in Washington next week.
 
A pressing issue not in the official programme is the controversy that has been swirling for weeks around the chief of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, threatening her leadership.
 
An investigation last month accused  Georgieva of rigging data to paint China as more business friendly in a 2018 report when she was chief executive at the World Bank. Georgieva has denied any wrongdoing.