Making 2025 the year to tackle the worst debt crisis in 30 years – join us!

The Global South is facing the worst debt crisis in 30 years. 54 lower-income countries, many in Southern Africa, are spending more on debt repayments than at any time in the last three decades. Countries such as Zambia are deeply affected by the debt crisis, which prevents government from vital public spending, such as on education and health, or climate mitigation, such as drought prevention.  

“We are calling out the global north countries to stand with us, to fight with us, to demand debt cancellation, to demand debt justice.”  ~ Zambian debt activist Precious Kalombwana said at a Debt Justice rally

This Jubilee Year,* ACTSA joins a coalition of UK organisations and activists from around the world in calling for urgent action on the debt crisis. ACTSA is part of the Choose Hope, Cancel Debt UK campaign, alongside Debt Justice and others. The UK is a vital player in the international debt system, because much of the debt owed to private lenders is governed by colonial-era English law, and many of those lenders are based in the UK. 

We call on the UK to lead on debt relief – as it has done in the past – to prevent countries in Southern Africa and the Global South remaining trapped in debt crisis for decades. We call on the government to: 

1. Stop the debt crisis now by cancelling unjust debt. 
2. Support debt justice laws to make private lenders take part in debt relief. 
3. Prevent future debt crises through a new debt framework within the United Nations.  

Sign the petition to support this call.  

What is happening in Southern Africa?

• Zambia has been negotiating debt relief for the last four years, and still hasn’t reached an agreement with all its creditors. Governments such as China agreed to debt relief in July 2023, and some types of private creditors, known as bondholders, in May 2024. But other Western banks have still not agreed to a debt relief deal. Even after debt relief, Zambia will still be paying over 14% of government revenue on external debt payments, putting the country at risk of needing to negotiate debt relief again in the future. Zambia has one of the highest levels of poverty and inequality in the world.  
• The Mozambique government has indicated it may need to ask for debt relief, after government funding shortfalls following the disputed elections. Mozambique is still making payments on debts arising from the hidden debt scandal, where two banks in London lent $2 billion, much of it in secret. The loans were a front to steal money on behalf of bankers, the private company involved in the deal and government officials. Extreme poverty has been rising in Mozambique in the past decade. 
• Malawi is still trying to negotiate debt relief with commercial lenders. The government had to take on short-term high interest debt during the Covid pandemic, which it is unable to pay. However, the two main creditors, Afreximbank and Trade Development Bank, have been refusing to agree debt relief because they claim they are exempt because they are part owned by African governments. However, the two banks charge high interest, do write-off debts owed by private companies, and make large annual profits. Malawi remains one of the poorest countries in the world. 
• South Africa has made tackling the debt crisis across the global South one of the priorities for its presidency of the G20 in 2025. 

Twenty-five years ago, debt campaigners forced action that wiped off $130bn of debt globally. We know it’s possible. Sign the petition to support this call to the UK government.   

 *‘Jubilee Year’, a period every 25 years when Christians believe debts must be written off.