Economics
$1 Trillion Debt Pardon Needed for Developing Economies, UN Says
- Developing world were headed for debt crisis before Covid-19
- New global debt authority can help restructure sovereign debts
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Developing countries need about $1 trillion in debt canceled to free up funds to fight the coronavirus pandemic and avert a massive debt crisis, the United Nations said.
Immediate payment waivers coupled with a debt overhaul will help countries stay solvent in the face of as much as $3.4 trillion in obligations due this year and next, according to the UN’s trade and development agency, UNCTAD. The total debt stock of developing countries -- external and domestic, private and public -- stood at 191% of gross domestic product by the end of 2018.