African Countries Urged to Endorse Borrowers’ Club

**By Andualem Sisay Gessesse / Nairobi, Kenya – As the debt burden of African countries continues to impact the lives of hundreds of millions of citizens in the continent, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) urged the citizens to put pressure on their government and endorse “Borrowers Club”. **

Speaking at a panel on the sidelines of the 6th African Conference on Debt and Development in Nairobi, Kenya today, Penelope Hawkins, Officer-in-Charge, Debt and Development Finance UNCTAD, stated that only a handful of African countries have endorsed Borrowers Club so far and urged others to endorse. The “Borrowers’ Club” – officially launched as the Borrowers’ Platform – is a landmark UNCTAD-backed initiative designed to give developing nations a collective voice and permanent space to navigate sovereign debt management

Penelope Hawkinss stated that out of the total 9 developing countries who endorsed a handful are African countries namely, Central African Republic, Sudan, Egypt, Ghana, and Madagascar. Stating that over the past years debt servicing cost of developing countries have been increasing impacting the lives of billions of people in the developing world reaching over 5 billion dollars last year, she urged the citizens to put pressure on their governments to join the Borrowers Club. “We need the help of the citizens,” she said.

According to the official UNCTAD Borrowers’ Platform Factsheet, joining and endorsing the platform is structured as a streamlined, voluntary, and non-binding process for eligible developing nations. To be considered as member of the platform, a country must be a net-borrower developing country. To be eligible a county also must not be a full member of traditional, major creditor groupings (such as the Paris Club). Over 120 nations currently fit these criteria.

Joining the platform acts as a systemic endorsement of its core mission, which member countries formalize by issuing ministerial statements from high-level officials, nominating senior technical experts to participate in peer-learning and workshops, and attending major milestone summits like the first Governing Council Meeting in October 2026. This, in turn, facilitates the country’s active involvement in the platform’s shared database and technical activities. For more details, visit the platform’s official documentation.

The launch of Borrowers’ Club brought together representatives from over 30 countries spanning all sizes and regions—ranging from major developing economies like India and South Africa to vulnerable small-island states like the Maldives. The UNCTAD initiative aimed at addressing a global crisis where 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than on health or education. It aims to shift the power balance in international finance through several core strategies.

According to UNCTAD, the platform is actively expanding its membership ahead of its first official Governing Council Meeting scheduled for October 2026. Eligible countries coordinate their entry directly through the UNCTAD Borrowers’ Platform Secretariat.

The panel in Nairobi this morning entitled, ‘From Position to Power: Making the CAP on Debt and Borrowers’ Platform Work for People’, explored on how the Borrowers’ Platform and civil society accountability mechanisms can work together to advance and operationalize the Common African Position on Debt, which is often referred as CAP.

During today’s panel, drawing on experiences such as Okoa Uchumi’s People’s Audit and debt accountability work in Kenya, Zambia and Ghana, participants have reflected on practical mechanisms including national accountability hubs, citizen-led debt observatories, CAP implementation scorecards and coordinated Pan-African civil society monitoring.

The discussions focused on the CAP and Borrowers’ Platform to reflect on how adequately reflected on the lived experiences of people most affected by debt distress and austerity, particularly women, young people, persons with disabilities and marginalized communities.

Opened on Monday this week, the 6th African Conference on Debt and Development (AfCoDD) is organized primarily by the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD).First launched by AFRODAD in 2021, the annual conference brings together political, technical, and civil society leaders to discuss Africa’s economic sovereignty and financial architecture