There is a clamour by poorer nations to have their debts waived or at least restructured to help them cope with the effects of Covid-19. The coronavirus has severely disrupted global economies and the worst hit are developing nations that have seen their livelihoods wiped away in days.
Debt relief for the poor would be a worthy gesture by richer nations that have more wiggle room in dealing with the pandemic. Africa, which has most of the world’s poor, is especially heavily indebted to global giants such as China, the US and European countries.
Granted, many of the loans provided by the richer nations have helped spur development on the continent, but poorer countries cannot pay them back at this time. Africa’s exports – most of them to the richer nations – and diaspora remittances have dried up, manufacturing is down to a trickle and jobs are being lost.
The little revenue that poorer countries are likely to collect will have to go towards propping up the decrepit health systems that their citizens have put up with since time immemorial so as to save lives.
A grouping of former Africa presidents and leaders is pushing for special financial assistance of at least Sh15 trillion for developing countries to fight the medical and economic crisis and prevent a second wave of the disease flowing back into countries as they come out of the first wave. This is the right call.
