DFI is today launching a report submitted to the UN Secretary General, showing the amount which debt relief could contribute to filling the SDG financing gap. Using the Debt Watch database, which contains projections of public debt service for almost all G77 countries, DFI has simulated scenarios for debt relief and borrowing cost reductions which match the proposals made by the UN Secretary General, the Jubilee debt relief campaign and the South African G20 presidency.

The report can be found here. It finds that G77 countries are paying US$8.8 billion in debt service in 2026. These measures could save G77 countries US$3.4 trillion a year. Even in a more likely scenario where eligibility for debt relief and cost reduction is restricted by creditors, the contribution would be in the hundreds of billions. At the level of individual countries, it would allow poorer G77 members to meet their SDG financing gaps and double their spending on all the social and environmental SDGs including climate.

DFI will soon be examining in more detail how this relief can be delivered, with a view to making clear and affordable proposals for the UK presidency of the G20 and G7 in 2027.