UNITED NATIONS, June 27 (WSH) — The United Nations has issued a stark warning about a worsening global debt crisis that is jeopardizing development across low- and middle-income countries, launching an 11-point action plan to tackle the growing burden of debt service payments.
Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed unveiled the report, “Confronting the Debt Crisis: 11 Actions to Unlock Sustainable Financing,” on Friday, joined by economic experts Mahmoud Mohieldin, Paolo Gentiloni, and UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan. The report, developed by the UN Secretary-General’s Expert Group on Debt, comes ahead of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development to be held next week in Sevilla.
Debt Over Health and Education
According to the report, more than 3.4 billion people—nearly half the global population—live in countries that are now spending more on interest payments than on essential services like health or education. This marks an increase of 100 million people from the previous year.
Debt service payments by developing countries jumped from $847 billion to $921 billion in just one year. “Borrowing is critical for development,” said Mohammed. “But borrowing is not working for many developing countries. Over two-thirds of our low-income countries are either in debt distress or at high risk of it.”
Paolo Gentiloni, the EU Commissioner for the Economy, added, “Debt servicing costs have practically doubled in the last decade. This crisis is accelerating.”
A Three-Level Strategy for Relief and Prevention
The new UN report outlines 11 actionable recommendations categorized under two major goals: meaningful debt relief and future crisis prevention. These actions span three levels:
- Multilateral level: Reallocate and replenish global liquidity through targeted support for low-income countries.
- International level: Create a platform where creditors and debtors can engage directly to resolve debt disputes.
- National level: Strengthen institutions, manage interest rates better, and improve policy coordination and risk management.
“These are eleven proposals that are doable and only need the political will of all the actors to be able to make them real,” said Grynspan.
Sevilla Conference to Cement Global Consensus
The recommendations directly reinforce the commitments outlined in the Compromiso de Sevilla, the forthcoming outcome document of the global development financing summit. While most UN Member States support the proposals, the United States has opted out of the negotiations and will not attend the Sevilla conference.
Despite this, UN leaders expressed optimism. “This is not just about technical solutions,” said Mohieldin. “This is about moral and political will to secure the right to development for billions of people.”
