African nations are allocating more budgets to servicing debts than investing in education, the United Nations laments.
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, UNICEF, said the “world is facing a new and intensifying era of crisis for children” exacerbated by climate change, conflict, and economic instability.
“Among the 34 African Union countries with available data, 15 now allocate more to debt servicing than to education,” UNICEF wrote in a report released earlier this week.
The report titled ‘Prospects for Children in 2025: Building Resilient Systems for Children’s Futures’ looks into the “key trends affecting children and young people over the following 12 months and beyond,” UNICEF said.
Debt distress
The report added that nearly 400 million children live in countries where debt distress hinders vital investments in development and people's well-being.
The agency stressed that action needs to be taken to “uphold children’s rights and well-being” and to “strengthen systems.”
In August last year, the UN said more than 90 percent of Sudan's 19 million school-age children have no access to formal education as civil war ravages the country.
“By robbing children and young people of their education, the conflict is stealing their future,” said Kristine Hambrouck, the UN Refugee Agency's representative in Sudan, at the time.
Debt servicing over health
UNICEF, in its latest report, also adds that over 40 low-income countries globally spend twice as much on debt servicing as on health, including some countries with very large child populations.
“The failure to invest in children not only harms children’s lives today (and their lifetime prospects), but also undermines countries’ long-term capacity to repay their debts,” UNICEF warned in their latest report.
A report released last year by the UN Office says Africa, confronting crises such as financial distress, climate change, and food insecurity, required an additional $1.3 trillion to $1.6 trillion to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2063, which also covers education on the continent.
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