Rich Nations Can Stave Off African Debt Crisis, AfDB Says

Rich nations can help stave off a debt crisis in Africa by allowing low-income countries to delay repayments, speed up the restructuring of liabilities for sovereign defaulters and reallocate International Monetary Fund reserves to countries in need, the African Development Bank said.

Twenty-three African nations were either in, or at a high risk of, debt distress by the end of September, the Abidjan, Ivory Coast-based lender said in a report published Thursday. While risks are seen lingering as governments grapple with the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and economic shocks spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “persistently tight” global financial conditions could heighten vulnerabilities, it said.