African Leaders Push for a New Global Finance Deal

African policymakers are meeting in Togo this week to chart a path out of the continent’s growing debt crisis, which will see nearly $89 billion paid in external debt service this year—about 25% of the continent’s combined GDP. With defaults in countries like Ghana and Zambia still fresh, leaders are exploring “Africa-led solutions,” including local currency financing and diaspora bonds. The talks come as traditional aid shrinks due to Western policy shifts, prompting new borrowing strategies and calls for global finance reform. Amid a tense global economic climate, the three-day African Union event aims to reimagine sustainable funding models that can help Africa invest in health, education, and infrastructure without deepening its debt burden.