As the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings draw to a close, ActionAid provides the following reactions on the themes of debt, the impact on women, and economic reform.
On debt, Roos Saalbrink, ActionAid’s Lead on Economic Justice, said:
“The IMF’s warning on rising debt and widening inequality at this week’s meetings in Bangkok has come far too late and with far too little actual actions attached to it.
Communities have long been living with the consequences of high borrowing costs and debt repayments crowding out spending on healthcare, education and social protection. The answer is not deeper cuts, but meaningful debt relief and fairer economic policies.”
On the impact on women, Wangari Kinoti, ActionAid’s Lead on Women’s Rights and Feminist Alternatives, said:
“The IMF’s renewed focus on large spending cuts risks deepening austerity measures that have already harmed communities across the Global South, with women forced to act as unwilling shock absorbers.
The IMF’s references to gender equality ring hollow when it continues to ignore how women pay the highest price: through increased unpaid care and domestic work, the loss of public-sector jobs, suppressed wages and rising out-of-pocket costs as essential public services, including health care, are cut and privatised. How much more evidence of the devastation caused by these policies is needed before the IMF changes course?”
On economic reform, Bertha Kabengele, Programmes and Policy Lead at ActionAid Zambia, said:
“An increased focus on raising revenue is welcome, but without progressive taxation those who can least afford it end up footing the bill. Without debt cancellation, much of that additional revenue will be diverted to creditors rather than invested in people.
The international community must tackle structural problems and bring tax negotiations into a fairer and more transparent shape through a strong UN Tax Convention, where all countries will have an equal voice.”
Ends
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About ActionAid
ActionAid is an international network building a just, equitable, and sustainable world in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice. ActionAid USA is the U.S. member of the ActionAid federation, based in Washington, D.C.
