AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) welcomed the African Union’s focus on debt sustainability at this week’s Specialized Technical Committees session in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, while urging African leaders to continue pushing for structural reforms to a global debt system that prevents developing countries from investing in healthcare, education, and other basic human needs. The Abidjan talks build on the Common African Position on Debt adopted by African Heads of State in February.
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Today, 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than on health or education. In Africa, two out of every three countries spend more servicing debt than investing in the health of their people, while developing nations face borrowing costs two to ten times higher than those of wealthier countries.
A unified African voice on debt reflects the goals of AHF’s global Freedom from Debt campaign, which calls on global leaders to:
- Support implementation of the Borrowers’ Forum (as proposed by the Seville Financing for Development summit and the G20 South Africa) to unify the Global South’s voice and increase its negotiating power.
- Ensure mandatory, automatic, and interest-free debt pauses in all lending agreements when countries face public health or climate crises.
- Call for a 1% global artificial intelligence solidarity levy on leading AI firms’ capital investments and revenues to fund debt relief and provide essential public goods for the Global South.
“The African Union’s leadership in Abidjan shows a continent speaking with one voice on debt, and AHF stands ready to support that effort,” said AHF Executive Vice President Dr. Penninah Iutung. “No nation should be forced to choose between servicing its debts and providing for its citizens, yet that is the choice this unjust and extractive system imposes every day. We urge Africa’s leaders to keep championing the reforms that put people over profit because when countries negotiate together, they can win the fairer terms their people deserve.”
The sovereign debt crisis is driven by unjust global financial rules, colonial-era economic structures, and the dominance of multilateral institutions (e.g., World Bank, International Monetary Fund). Additionally, private creditors hold over half of many developing nations’ public external debt. Countries are routinely forced to prioritize debt payments over lifesaving investments—even during public health emergencies and climate disasters. AHF urges AU member states to carry the momentum from Abidjan into the UN General Assembly, the World Bank/IMF meetings, and the G20.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 3 million individuals across 50 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. In January 2025, AHF received the MLK, Jr. Social Justice Award, The King Center’s highest recognition for an organization leading work in the social justice arena. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
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