African finance ministers in Washington have intensified calls for a global financial reset as they grapple with debt loads that have forced many governments to cut spending on health and education.
The finance chiefs are discussing global economic issues at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank while pushing for reforms to address the continent’s development financing challenges.
More than 10,000 people, including central bank governors and representatives from civil society groups, have convened in the US capital for the meetings.
The World Bank raised its growth forecast for Sub-Saharan Africa by 0.3% to 3.8% for 2025 last week, citing easing inflationary pressures and modest investment recovery.
However, the Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa, Andrew Dabalan, said the pace of growth remains insufficient to reduce extreme poverty.
“Countries must invest to create adequate decent jobs to meet the growing labour force,” Dabalen made the remarks during the launch of the bank’s Africa Pulse report.
The number of Sub-Saharan nations in or at high risk of debt distress has almost tripled, rising from eight in 2014 to 23 in 2025, according to the World Bank.
The governments, fearful of default consequences, have had to cut health and education spending to meet their high debt service obligations.
A group of influential economists on Sunday urged the IMF and World to replenish its debt relief funds to ensure more countries could receive debt cancellation.
“Bold action on debt means more children in classrooms, more nurses in hospitals, more action on climate change, more jobs, more trade, and less need for aid,” they said in an open letter to the IMF and World Bank.
Another group, comprising 165 civil society organizations, called for the “cancellation of all unsustainable and illegitimate debts from all creditors” to make way for investment in hospitals, schools, and climate mitigation.
The organizations, in a letter to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, criticized the country’s presidency of the G20 group for failing to push the debt reform agenda among the group of major economies.
African governments hope the advocacy and engagements will improve access to credit and reduce debt burden.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s central bank Governor, Johnson Asiamah, will share insights on the country’s debt restructuring progress on Thursday in an interview with the IMF African Department Director Abebe Selassie.
