On July 16, 2024, the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) organised a side event titled “Is the Debt Crisis Killing the SDGs?” at the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) 2024. The event highlighted how the ongoing debt crisis is severely undermining the global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Watch the programme in youtube here.

Event Highlights:

Welcome and Introduction: Pradeep Baisakh of GCAP opened the event by emphasizing the critical juncture at which the world stands, noting the numerous obstacles impeding the progress of the SDGs. “Several countries in the Global South are facing a debt crisis, affecting their ability to fund health, education, and social security,” Baisakh stated.

Moderation: The session was moderated by Ingo Ritz, Director of GCAP, who underscored the urgency of collective action. “The crisis is not only killing the SDGs, but it is also killing people around the world. It is high time we joined hands and prepared for advocacy and mobilization to ensure that countries fund themselves to attain SDGs,” Ritz urged.

Global debt situation and regional impacts: Patricia Miranda from LATINDADD provided an overview of the global debt landscape, noting that since 2010, the external debt of low-and middle-income countries has surged by over 80%. “Countries in critical or very critical situations are predominantly from Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, South Asia, and the Pacific,” she said.

Asian perspective on SDGs: Mae Buenaventura from the Asia People’s Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) painted a bleak picture for the Asia Pacific region. “Not a single SDG is on track to be achieved by 2030. At the current pace, only one-third of the targets would be met,” Buenaventura warned.

Download the presentation by Mae Buenaventura on Debt and SDGs here.

Sri Lanka’s debt crisis: Ermiza Tegal from the Yukti Debt Justice Collective highlighted Sri Lanka’s dire situation, where poverty levels skyrocketed from 14.3% in 2019 to 42% in 2022. “Despite this, the government has implemented harsh austerity measures like doubling interest rates, increasing indirect taxes, removing utility subsidies, cutting public spending, and promoting the privatization of education,” Tegal lamented.

Impact on social protection in Africa: Jane Anyango from GCAP Kenya highlighted the devastating effects of debt on social protection in African countries. “The debt situation in Kenya is at its worst, leaving many without social security. Young people demanding financial reforms face arrests, even deaths. The health sector is in disarray. Teachers are not receiving retirement benefits, and employees are denied maternity benefits,” Anyango reported.

Role of global financing mechanisms: Samuel Obara from the Africa Platform for Social Protection maintained that Debt distress, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, has risen to alarming levels. Resources are increasingly diverted from investments and public services that could help achieve the SDGs to debt servicing instead.

Download the presentation by Samuel Obara on the Role of Global Accelerator To Fund Social Protection here.

ODA and financing gaps: Pramana Adhikary of LDC Watch stressed the importance of bridging the gap in Official Development Assistance (ODA) to finance SDGs in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). “ODA has become another instrument for exploitative practices that drain resources from vulnerable countries,” Adhikary underlined.

Call to action

The co-organizers — Latindadd; NGO Federation of Nepal; Asia Dalit Rights Forum (ADRF); The Inclusivity Project (TIP); Pakistan Development Alliance (PDA); Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, India; Noakhali Rural Development Society, Bangladesh; Coordination Committee of Cambodia (CCC); Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM); Polycom Girls/GCAP Kenya; GCAP Ghana; Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF); LDC Watch; and South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) — reiterated their commitment to advocating for sustainable solutions and mobilizing global support to alleviate the debt burden on low- and middle-income countries.