With 100 days until the G20 meets in South Africa, anti-poverty group ONE Campaign is demanding leaders deliver concrete reforms to slash Africa’s borrowing costs and break the debt trap suffocating development.
The plea targets a financial system where outdated risk perceptions force African nations to pay up to eight times more interest than wealthier countries, diverting funds from schools and hospitals toward debt servicing.
Kerezhi Sebany, ONE Campaign’s Economic Opportunities Director for Africa, framed the summit as a make-or-break moment: “Every extra percentage point Africa pays is a classroom not built or a clinic without medicines. This isn’t just Africa’s crisis—it’s a global failure.” The group urges a binding roadmap to overhaul credit ratings, boost data transparency, and expand affordable financing. Without action, debt repayments will keep outpacing investments in energy, roads, and healthcare.
The solution hinges on dismantling systemic barriers. Coordinated G20 action could replace biased risk models with fairer metrics, unlock innovative financing like liquidity guarantees, and harmonise reforms across institutions. Why should a country’s GDP per capita dictate its capital costs more than its growth potential?
As Sebany notes, the stakes transcend borders: fairer capital access could unleash sustainable growth for billions. When leaders gather in November, their choice boils down to complacency or courage. The world will be watching.
