FAQ

African Leaders Debt Relief Initiative (ALDRI) was initiated by former Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, driven by the need for a comprehensive international debt relief initiative, as proposed by the Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery project. Recognizing the urgency of the issue, he engaged with his peers, who enthusiastically joined the effort and elected former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as Chair. The founding members then expanded the group by reaching out to additional leaders. To formally launch ALI and strategize future activities, they decided to convene in Cape Town on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers meeting.

ALDRI is a platform for high-level engagement, policy advocacy, and bold leadership to secure debt relief and unlock financing for climate-resilient, green growth. The Initiative unites former African Heads of State and Government to use their collective influence to break the silence on the global debt crisis and drive urgent action. ALDRI advocates for large-scale, systemic solutions and seeks to advance a global debt relief initiative for highly indebted developing nations.

ALDRI seeks to advance a global debt relief initiative for highly indebted developing nations, with a predictable, fair, and inclusive debt restructuring process involving all creditors, as developed by the Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery (DRGR) Project. This should go together with innovative solutions that lower the costs of capital and unlock resources for sustainable investments.

ALDRI is an African-led initiative. ALDRI is open to new members among former African Heads of State and Government. Whether or not to integrate members from outside Africa will be decided by the ALDRI members at a later stage.

Africa is the continent that is most affected by the sovereign debt crisis of developing and emerging economies. Due to external shocks, rising interest rates in advanced economies, and the increasing costs of addressing climate change, external debt levels of African economies have soared between 2008 and 2022 by 240%. More than half of the African population lives in countries that are spending more on interest than on health. They have an average cost of financing of 11.6%- 8.5 percentage points above the US benchmark. This means that most African countries face a cost of capital that is higher than their projected growth rates.
Therefore it makes sense that Africa takes the lead in pursuing a comprehensive solution to this crisis. But any comprehensive solution will also need to benefit countries in similar situations on other continents.

ALDRI members have reached out to the current AU chair to inform him about the initiative. ALDRI seeks close collaboration with the AU and South Africa as African G20 members.

ALDRI has met with South African President Ramaphosa to inform him about the establishment of the initiative, and discuss collaboration to foster progress on debt relief in the context of the South African G20 presidency.

The establishment of ALDRI is supported by the DRGR project, with the latter acting as its interim secretariat. The DRGR team is providing technical expert advice and support for ALI, led by DRGR Co-Chair Patrick Njoroge. The DRGR Project is a collaboration between the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and the Centre for Sustainable Finance at SOAS, University of London.