Big banks are making up to 250% profit from Zambia's debt crisis. We need to demand debt cancellation now.
These banks have refused calls from the IMF, World Bank and UN to suspend repayments and have continued profiting throughout the pandemic.
Collectively, they receive more in repayments each year than the Zambian government spends on healthcare or climate adaptation.
But now we have an opportunity to push them to drop the debt. Zambia is currently undergoing debt restructuring negotations in which the UK government are involved.
We need to raise our voices in support of the Zambian people and demand justice. Join us in calling on the Chancellor and Foreign Secretary to ensure debt cancellation and debt justice for Zambia.
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Code red for a new debt crisis
Zambia's case could be just the tip of the iceberg.
New research by Jubilee Debt Campaign has found that low-income countries are spending twice as much on debt repayments as they were in 2010, and that nearly half this debt is owed to big banks and financial corporations.
54 countries are currently in debt crisis and their situation could become far worse if US interest rates rise.
Our research found that Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal also owe money to these big banks and could face a deepening crisis this year unless action is taken.
That makes securing debt cancellation and a just resolution to ongoing debt negotiations for Zambia all the more important.
Join us in calling on Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss to support debt cancellation for Zambia.
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Debt justice means climate and health justice
Zambia’s crisis is particularly bad because a higher proportion, 59%, of its debt repayments in the coming years are owed to big banks who charge higher rates of interest.
The banks bet on Zambia's economy continuing to grow, and they should have lost when the pandemic initiated a global economic crisis. Yet unlike anyone else who’s lost on a bet or investment, the rules of our global economy allow the banks to keep collecting on their debts.
That means the Zambian government has to prioritise repaying these banks over investing in vital public services and climate projects that protect its citizens.
Zambia’s debt repayments are nearly three times its annual climate adaptation budget, and nearly four times its annual healthcare budget.
How are governments in the global south meant to tackle the pandemic, deal with the climate crisis and protect their citizens if they have to keep paying these banks billions? Join us in calling for justice.
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The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed over a hundred million people across the world into extreme poverty.
Lower-income countries who are taking the hardest hit from the devastating pandemic are still saddled with huge debt payments to unaccountable private creditors in the global north.
Together we can challenge this, and fight for a more just and sustainable alternative. Regular gifts give us the long-term stability to plan effective campaigns, as well as the flexibility to react to key events.
If you’re not already a member, will you join today?
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