The UK has been urged to lead global debt reform ahead of its 2027 G20 Presidency, with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) warning that the growing sovereign debt crisis is undermining health, education, social protection and economic stability across Commonwealth countries.
The call came ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), scheduled to hold in Antigua and Barbuda in November, as the UK prepares to assume the G20 Presidency next year.
AHF said the UK has a unique opportunity to drive concrete reforms in the international financial system, noting that one in three Commonwealth countries is currently in debt distress, while a majority of global debt contracts are governed by UK law.
The organisation further said 3.4 billion people globally live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than on health and education combined.
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According to AHF, developing countries also face borrowing costs two to 10 times higher than those of wealthier nations, while 21 Commonwealth countries spend at least 14 per cent of their government revenue on debt repayments.
AHF President, Michael Weinstein, said the global debt crisis was sustained by an inequitable financial architecture that continues to disadvantage countries in the Global South.
“The global debt crisis is upheld by a financial architecture that is inequitable, extractive, and rooted in colonial legacy,” Weinstein said.
He urged the UK to demonstrate leadership by championing systemic reforms that would enable Commonwealth countries to achieve sustainable prosperity.
Weinstein also called on the British government to protect borrowing countries from private creditors who, he said, exploit the UK legal system to force repayments and undermine debt relief efforts.
He advocated legislation to curb predatory lending practices and prevent creditors from frustrating debt relief initiatives.
The call also follows the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s announcement of plans to slash UK aid funding by up to 90 per cent for some countries, including Malawi and Mozambique.
AHF said the proposed reductions could further deepen the fiscal pressures facing countries already struggling to finance social protection and essential public services.
AHF Executive Vice President, Dr Penninah Iutung, said the debt crisis had moved beyond being a purely financial concern, describing it as a major security and development challenge.
“We cannot say we are a Commonwealth of Nations when many member states are trapped in a debt cycle that impoverishes them and destabilizes their economies,” Iutung said.
She called for greater unity among countries of the Global South in sustaining pressure for comprehensive debt reform, drawing on the ideals of independence and anti-colonial movements.
In June, AHF and its partners launched the Freedom from Debt campaign, which seeks to mobilise global action to address structural problems in sovereign debt financing.
The campaign is calling for the acceleration of the Borrowers’ Forum to strengthen the collective negotiating position of countries in the Global South.
It is also advocating automatic, interest-free debt repayment pauses in lending agreements whenever countries face public health or climate crises.
Another proposal is a one per cent global AI Solidarity Levy on the capital investments and revenues of leading artificial intelligence companies, with the funds to be used for debt relief and essential public goods in developing countries.
AHF said bold action was required to reform the global financial system and ensure that countries were able to invest adequately in health, education and development.
The foundation urged the UK to use its forthcoming G20 Presidency to place debt reform firmly on the international agenda and translate its leadership role into concrete measures capable of delivering greater economic stability and prosperity for countries in the Global South.
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