By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
Ahead of the African Union (AU) Summit next week, a new report by ActionAid has revealed that African countries are owed a staggering US$36 trillion in climate debt by wealthy, polluting nations.
This debt, which includes reparations for the climate crisis and other historical injustices, dwarfs the foreign debt that African nations are currently servicing.
The report, titled “Who Owes Who? External Debts, Climate Debts, and Reparations in the Jubilee Year,” exposes the harsh reality that African nations are prioritizing foreign debt repayments over essential services such as healthcare, education, and climate action.
This financial burden is exacerbated by the global financial system, which forces low-income countries to spend more on debt servicing than on vital public sectors.
The report highlights that over 75% of lower-income countries are spending more on servicing foreign debt than on their healthcare systems, while more than half are spending more on debt repayments than on education.
In contrast, African countries are paying US$60 billion in foreign debt repayments in 2024, a figure that severely limits their ability to invest in critical sectors like health, education, and climate action.
Arthur Larok, Secretary General of ActionAid International, condemned the situation, stating, “It is a travesty that African nations are being crushed under the weight of foreign debt, while the world’s richest countries continue to evade their responsibility to pay for the climate crisis and reparations linked to historical injustices.
By forcing countries to prioritize debt repayment over essential services, rich nations are pushing Africa to the brink.”
The report also reveals a stark disparity in global debt conditions, noting that African nations are charged exorbitant interest rates on loans—an average of 9.8%—compared to just 0.8% for wealthy countries like Germany.
This unjust global credit rating system is fueling the debt crisis in Africa, making it even harder for the continent to cope with the compounded challenges of climate change and economic inequality.
With the African Union declaring 2025 as the Year of Reparations, ActionAid is urging a global shift in the financial system.
“For African countries to overcome the debt crisis and the impacts of climate change, we must see debt cancellation and a complete overhaul of the colonial debt architecture that has burdened the continent for decades,” said Andrew Mamedu, Executive Director of ActionAid Nigeria.
The report underscores the urgent need for a new global framework to address the debt crisis and climate reparations.
“In this Jubilee year, we need a fundamental overhaul of the global financial system, shifting the power over debt away from the IMF to a more inclusive UN body,” said Joy Mabenge, Country Director of ActionAid Zimbabwe.
In light of these findings, ActionAid calls on the African Union and movements across the continent to unite and demand debt cancellation, as well as the establishment of a new UN Framework Convention on Debt to replace the current, unjust system centered around the IMF.
This, ActionAid argues, is crucial for addressing the climate crisis, economic exploitation, and the need for reparations owed to African countries.
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