Debt reform could unlock $320bn and save lives across Africa, new analysis finds

AS GLOBAL financial leaders gather in Washington, D.C. this week for the annual World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings, a new analysis from the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) is drawing attention to the human cost — and potential human benefit — of reforming the world’s debt system.

- SIPHELELE DLUDLA

MAVIS Owusu-Gyamfi, ACET president and CEO, said those resources could achieve a lot if redirected toward strengthening clinics, training teachers or ensuring families have access to clean water.

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The report, unveiled on Wednesday, reveals that capping African governments’ debt servicing costs could unlock more than $320 billion in revenue, transforming lives across the continent and offering struggling governments a path out of what ACET calls a “cycle of debt and dependence.”

Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, ACET president and CEO, said those resources could achieve a lot if redirected toward strengthening clinics, training teachers or ensuring families have access to clean water.

“African governments are currently spending nearly 17% of their revenues just to service debt — often paying more to creditors than they do for their citizens’ health and education,” Owusu-Gyamifi said.

“This isn’t just a fiscal challenge; it’s a human one. Every dollar used to pay debt is a dollar that could change a life —a child’s chance to learn, a mother’s access to health care, or a community's path out of poverty.

Owusu-Gyamfi said that as South Africa prepares to host the G20 Heads of State Summit next month, the continent has a “crucial opportunity to call for a fairer global debt system that truly serves its people.”