African development slowed by sovereign debt

Many African governments, including Kenya and Uganda, are facing unrest due to tax hikes and reduced spending on health and education with the aim to make fiscal spaces for external debt payment.

The continent’s foreign debt reached more than $1.1 trillion at the end of last year, according to the African Development Bank, which kept urging concessional loans for the continent.

Africa will pay out $163 billion just to service debts in 2024, up sharply from $61 billion in 2010, the African Development Bank said.

The growing burden of debt repayments has the potential to threaten achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals on the continent, particularly in health, education, and infrastructure.

Some 900 million people in the continent live in countries that spend more on interest payment than on health or education.

Debt payment leaves less resources for investments that could create jobs and less money for upgrading the health sector in a continent that is currently suffering from a worrying Mpox outbreak.