11 October – The Worst Debt Crisis Ever: Shocking New Debt Service Numbers
DFI is today launching a new Debt Service Watch briefing which shows that debt service numbers are higher than they have ever been. For 139 borrowers from the World Bank, service is above the levels reached in the HIPC and Latin American debt crises. It equals their total spending on education, health, social protection and climate adaptation combined, and exceeds this spending by half in Africa. This briefing, jointly with AFRODAD, Debt Justice, Erlassjahr, EURODAD, LATINDADD and Norwegian Church Aid, shows that developing countries are in their worst debt crisis ever. Current debt relief deals are leaving countries paying half their budgets on debt service. Much deeper debt cancellation and measures to reduce borrowing costs are essential to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals. For the English version of the briefing, click here. For French, here. For German, here. For Spanish, here. For the underlying summary database in English, here.
