Many developing countries are teetering on the edge of a debt crisis, with the COVID-19 pandemic, soaring food and energy costs and the monetary tightening of major economies all threatening to push them over.
But the international community has yet to do what is necessary to pull at-risk countries back from the brink.
For some economies, such as Lebanon and Sri Lanka, the crisis has already arrived. They could soon be joined by many more. As of the end of March, 38 of 69 low-income countries were either already in or at high risk of debt distress. Middle-income developing countries’ debt-service burden is at its highest level in 30 years.