AHF: UK must protect global south from predatory creditors

By Johnson Arua

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has urged the United Kingdom to use its forthcoming presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) to spearhead urgent reforms of the global financial system and address the worsening sovereign debt crisis threatening developing countries.

AHF Nigeria, in a statement issued by its Senior Advocacy and Marketing Manager, Steve Aborisade, said the UK must move beyond rhetoric and take concrete steps to protect countries in the Global South from an international debt system it described as inequitable and exploitative.

The call comes ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda in November and the UK’s assumption of the G20 Presidency in 2027.

According to the foundation, one in every three Commonwealth countries is currently in debt distress, while 21 Commonwealth nations spend at least 14 percent of their government revenue servicing debt.

AHF said the situation was particularly troubling because most global debt contracts are governed by UK law, arguing that Britain therefore has a special responsibility and opportunity to push for reforms that would protect borrowing nations from predatory creditors.

“The global debt crisis is upheld by a financial architecture that is inequitable, extractive, and rooted in colonial legacy,” AHF President, Michael Weinstein, said.

“The UK has a very unique opportunity to demonstrate honest leadership in championing systemic reforms that ensure members of the Commonwealth can achieve genuine prosperity,” he added.

Weinstein called on Britain to enact legislation capable of curbing predatory lending practices and preventing private creditors from using the UK’s legal system to frustrate debt relief efforts and compel vulnerable countries to make repayments at the expense of essential services.

AHF also expressed concern over the reported decision by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to slash aid funding by up to 90 percent in some countries, including Malawi and Mozambique, saying the cuts would worsen fiscal pressures in nations already struggling to provide social protection.

Executive Vice President of AHF, Dr. Penninah Iutung, said the debt burden had become more than an economic challenge, warning that it was increasingly threatening security, development and the wellbeing of millions of people.

“We cannot say we are a Commonwealth of Nations when many member states are trapped in a debt cycle that impoverishes them and destabilizes their economies,” Iutung said.

“The debt crisis is no longer a financial issue, but a security and development issue. We demand that it is treated with the same urgency as any pandemic,” she added.

The foundation said about 3.4 billion people worldwide live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than on health and education combined, while developing nations face borrowing costs between two and 10 times those of wealthier countries.

AHF said it and its partners launched the Freedom from Debt campaign in June to galvanise global action for debt reform, including the accelerated implementation of the Borrowers’ Forum to strengthen the negotiating power of countries in the Global South.

It urged Commonwealth nations and other developing countries to unite behind the campaign, insisting that the UK must use its forthcoming leadership positions to help create a fairer financial architecture capable of advancing development, prosperity and peace.