Africa is Facing “a debt crisis of deep moral urgency”: UN Official at Church's G20 Social Summit Gathering

The UN representative said that in 2024, “the interest in debt service alone amounted to 30 percent of government revenues, just servicing the debt, not even in many African countries, leaving fewer resources for other essential public services.”

The one day summit that SACBC organized in collaboration with Caritas Africa, Caritas South Africa, and SACBC Justice & Peace brought together Church leaders, academia, UN agencies, civil society, youth and women representatives to address Africa’s escalating debt crisis and its impact on education, health, climate action and social well-being.

In her November 19 keynote address, the UN official said that the debt crisis on the world’s second largest continent is no longer just a financial issue but a justice issue.

“We are seeing unrest in many countries, and these unrests are not necessarily just about the debt, but the debt compounds the issues, and probably even is at the center, because most of the social unrest is based on issues of service delivery and access to basic rights across the continent,” she said.

She said that the debt burden disproportionately affects women and girls through cuts to public health, and the shrinking of social spending, and the constrained fiscal space for gender equitable development.

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On what the UN is doing to address the debt crisis, Mrs. Utamuriza said that the UN, in its flagship report in 2024, “Unpacking Africa's Debt Towards a Lasting and Durable Solution”, laid out a comprehensive diagnosis of the debt.

To address the crisis, she said that the UN Secretary General “has urged a more just system, more concessional financing, and stronger multilateral development banks and instruments that recognize vulnerability, not just GDP growth.”

Based on this, she said that there should be more social indicators considered, not only just lending.

“If we can take a cue, many of the regional development banks should be strengthened to actually take up the role of being the lender, rather than resorting to more expensive private sector banks,” she said.

She said that the UN has also recommended a reform agenda calling for a rethinking of the international and financial structure.

Mrs. Utamuriza said that the UN is rooting for “capital increase for multilateral development banks, predictable debt instruments that link debt sustainability to development outcomes, not short-term yield and private financiers, strengthening domestic resource mobilization and debt management, so that African countries reclaim greater fiscal sovereignty.”

She added that the UN is also encouraging greater domestic resource mobilization and improved management of national resources as essential steps toward ultimately becoming debt-free.

“Our voices, especially those rooted in moral and ethical frameworks, have tremendous power, especially when they are united as one voice,” she said, and added, “The UN system is supporting these voices. And the UN system is supporting Africa-led proposals and Africa-led negotiations.”

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.