Giving Voice to The Silent Debt Crisis

Since 2020, African countries have found themselves at the epicenter of a ‘polycrisis’. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the globalization of inflation and subsequent interest rate hikes, as well as worsening climate shocks and the impact of rising geopolitical tensions, have left nations in a highly vulnerable position.

While these external shocks have attracted attention, many African countries are silently struggling with dangerously large debt burdens. The external sovereign debt of African nations has nearly tripled between 2008-2022 and the intertwined challenges of climate vulnerability and unsustainable debt threaten to derail Africa’s development trajectory.

The policy brief by Bogolo Kenewendo, Patrick Njoroge and Alexander Dryden details the challenging debt dynamics facing African nations and outlines several solutions that would improve their fiscal capacity to address the climate emergency and embark on a sustainable growth pathway.

» Here you can find the dossier "Debt Relief for Green and Inclusive Recovery"