Repudiation of global south debt to meet human need

Countries in the global south pay $300bn (£229bn; €260bn) a year in interest on external debt1—for many, comprising nearly half the world’s population, the amount is more than their expenditure on health or education.2 These payments often represent a net transfer of resources from debtor countries to creditor countries in the global north. The resources could be used for development and to meet human needs but are instead transferred to foreign private and multilateral lenders, some of the wealthiest people and institutions in the world.3