African leaders have called for a recalibration of the “dysfunctional” global financial infrastructure to help developing nations deal with the current global economic challenges and address the effects of climate change.
While high-income countries were able to pump trillions of dollars into their economies during the COVID-19 pandemic, African governments “kept their nations afloat by taking on more debt, which turned out to be a very expensive life raft,” Kenyan President William Ruto, African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat Faki, and the president of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, wrote in a New York Times essay in early October ahead of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund meetings.
“Africa is now paying more in debt service than the estimated $50 billion a year the Global Center on Adaptation says it needs to invest in climate resilience. These investments are not nice-to-haves — they are vital for building roads, bridges and dams that can withstand torrential rains and floods,” they wrote.