Kristalina Georgieva warns against premature withdrawal of government measuresCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage

In June, the Washington-based crisis lender projected a nearly five percent contraction of global GDP, but results in the second and third quarters were better than expected.

The global economy is in "less dire" shape than it was in June but risks crashing again if governments end fiscal and monetary support too soon, fail to control the coronavirus and ignore emerging market debt problems, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday.

The head of the International Monetary Fund says that the global economy has started on a long climb to stronger growth with prospects looking a little better than four months ago

Countries across the world risk facing massive bankruptcies and economic scarring if fiscal and monetary support deployed to support their economies through the current crisis is removed too soon, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday.

Five hundred of the world’s leading charities and social groups have sent a letter to the International Monetary Fund warning that its support programmes, which have had to be ramped up to cope with COVID-19, were condemning many countries to years of austerity.