enhanced structural adjustment facility (ESAF)

Arrangement through which International Monetary Fund (IMF) provides medium-term (5 to 10 years) concessional loans for balance of payments adjustment to the poorer countries., Introduced in 1987, it follows the same policy framework paper as the structural adjustment facility (SAF) introduced in 1986, but has triple the resources and monitors the borrowers' performance even more closely. Some 65 countries are eligible for assistance under the ESAF.