Topic: Finance and debt
Forcing poor nations to prioritise debt payments over social investments is a 'disaster,' says UN chief
News / 19th July 2023United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that "half our world is sinking into a development disaster, fueled by a crushing debt crisis," and called for urgent fiscal relief.
165 million people fell into poverty in 3 years of crisis
News / 19th July 2023The Covid-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine have pushed 165 million people into poverty since 2020, reports the United Nations, calling for a pause in debt repayments for developing countries.
‘Crushing’ debt crisis spells development disaster for billions
News / 13th July 2023Half of humanity lives in countries that are forced to spend more on servicing their debt than on health and education, which is nothing less than a development disaster, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
Stop austerity!
Article / 7th July 2023It is far more useful to fight wealth and inequality than to try and reduce poverty, writes Francine Mestrum.
Cancel the debt now to deliver climate justice
Blog / 27th June 2023Global South countries spend 5 times more on repaying debt than addressing the climate crisis. With 160 days to go before COP28, activists are calling on rich countries to 'Cancel The Debt for Climate Justice'.
Global North governments can redirect trillions in fossil, debt, and super-rich harms to fix global crises
Article / 20th June 2023A letter from policy experts calls on Global North leaders to put real global financial system transformation on the agenda, starting by redirecting funds from fossil fuels, unfair colonial debts, and the super-rich.
Africa now squeezed to the bones
Blog / 27th April 2023As many as 45 African countries have been further squeezed to their bones as funding shrinks to lowest ever levels, and as a portion of the so-called aid goes back to the pockets of rich donor countries.
New report highlights deep harms of IMF ‘austerity drive’ in poor nations
Report / 17th April 2023"For every $1 the IMF encouraged a set of poor countries to spend on public goods, it has told them to cut four times more through austerity measures," says Oxfam.
What if…there was a World Tax Organisation?
Blog / 17th February 2023There is a practical, possible alternative to the enduring injustice of global inequality: an intergovernmental tax body under the auspices of the United Nations, writes Alex Cobham.
Richest 1% bag nearly twice as much wealth as the rest of the world put together over the past two years
Report / 16th January 2023The richest 1 percent grabbed nearly two-thirds of all new wealth worth $42 trillion created since 2020, almost twice as much money as the bottom 99 percent of the world’s population, reveals a new Oxfam report today.