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Time for the global South to break free from Northern exploiters
As the massive debt burden continues to bite and the climate emergency worsens, the world’s developing countries must escape the abusive relationship of debt enslavement that is holding them back, says ROGER McKENZIE
STANDING FIRM: Activists demonstrate in silence protesting against a draft of a proposed deal for curbing climate change at the Cop29 UN Climate Summit, November 22, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan

AS THE United Nations climate summit once again failed to deliver any realistic finance to help developing countries deal with the impact of the worsening climate emergency, 144 countries face the worst debt crisis in history.

The fact that there are 193 UN recognised sovereign countries illustrates the depth of the debt crisis facing the beleaguered global South.

A report earlier this year by the campaign group Debt Relief International for Norwegian Church Aid (DRI) shows that repaying the debt is absorbing 41.5 per cent of budget revenues, 41.6 per cent of spending, and 8.4 per cent of gross domestic product on average across the 144 developing countries.

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