UNAIDS Executive Director Byanyima Calls for Change in Global Financial System

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The Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Winnie Byanyima, wants to see change in the global financial system.

According to Ugandan-born Byanyima, African countries get loans at a higher cost than rich countries.

“We need to change the global financial system,” she said on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday, July 18, 2024.

She also said that to recover from the ravages of COVID-19 and embark on a path to an inclusive, sustainable and prosperous future, Africa’s current debt crisis must be resolved.

“African governments spend more on debt repayment than they spend on the health of their people. People may die, but the debts must be repaid!” she wrote.

Byanyima stressed that it is in the global economy that Africa’s problems begin.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is a traumatic example of this, pushing millions of people into poverty and unemployment. Big pharma has hidden behind intellectual property rules to put profits before human lives,” she said.

Being united

The UNAIDS chief urged young people in African countries to unite to fight against trade barriers, unfair competition and unequal access to technology and finance.

The global financial system is a broader regional system that encompasses all financial institutions, borrowers and lenders within the global economy.

These financial institutions include the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Uganda’s debt burden

The Office of the Auditor General in Uganda said in its latest report that the country’s public debt was increasing more than the gross domestic product (GDP).

He revealed that Uganda’s total public debt stood at Sh96.168 trillion as of June 2023, comprising a domestic debt stock of Sh43.696 trillion and an external debt stock of Sh52.472 trillion.

“This represents an increase of Sh9.329 trillion, or 10.74 per cent, from Sh86.839 trillion as of June 30, 2022,” the report said.

The report also noted that there has been a steady increase in total debt as evidenced by the 107 per cent increase in the five years from 2018/19, from Sh46 trillion to Sh96.168 trillion as at June 30, 2023.

At the same time, he added, the GDP increased from Sh132.09 trillion in 2018/2019 to Sh184.89 trillion in 2022/23 during the same period, representing an increase of Sh52.805 trillion (39.98%).

“This implies that public debt is increasing more than GDP. The increase in debt is due to the increase in government spending relative to domestic revenue to finance the budget deficit,” the report said.