Faced with Crushing Debts, World ’s Poorest Nations to Slash Public Spending by Over 229 Billion Dollars

By Thalif DeenUNITED NATIONS, Oct 9 2023 (IPS) The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are returning to Africa, for the first time in decades, with the “same old failed message”. “Cut your spending, sack public service workers, and pay your debts– despite the huge human costs” says Oxfam International’s interim Executive Director Amitabh Behar, following the release of new Oxfam report. “They must show they can genuinely change to reverse the tide of widening inequality within and between countries,” he said. The two Washington-based international financial institutions (IFIs) are holding their annual meetings October 9-15, this time in Marrakesh, Morocco, in north Africa. In a new analysis released October 9, Oxfam says more than half (57 percent) of the world’s poorest countries, home to 2.4 billion people, are having to cut public spending by a combined $229 billion over the next five years. On current terms, low- and lower-middle income countries will be forced to pay nearly half a billion dollars every day in interest and debt repayments between now and 2029. Entire countries are facing bankruptcy, with the poorest countries now spending four times more repaying debts to rich creditors than on healthcare. “The World Bank says we are likely seeing the biggest increase in global inequality and poverty since World War 2, yet the Bank has no clear goal to reduce inequality.,” Behar said For its part, the IMF claims to mitigate th...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Economy & Trade Featured Financial Crisis Headlines Health Inequality IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Sustainable Development Goals TerraViva United Nations IPS UN Bureau IPS UN Bureau Report Source Type: news