Overview

• The Jubilee Commission report, commissioned by Pope Francis, calls for a HIPC II debt relief initiative and technical legal changes to the global financial system.
• It finds that 57% of Africa’s population lives in countries that allocate more to debt servicing than to basic health or education funding.
• Commissioners warn the current crisis is more complex than in the early 2000s due to a rise in private-sector and Chinese lending that impedes swift restructurings.
• Economists including Joseph Stiglitz describe a “perfect storm” driven by pandemic borrowing, higher interest rates and a slowing global economy.
• UN member states will debate creditor accountability and debt relief measures at the Financing for Development conference in Seville later this month.