The co-founder of Microsoft, billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates called on the world’s richest countries to increase financial support for African countries that are suffering due to the growing costs of aid to Ukraine and refugees from other countries. This is stated in the analytical article, published in Fortune.
Gates noted that financial aid to Africa is being reduced at a time when the continent needs debt relief, vaccination support and food aid. At the same time, Ukraine receives significant amounts of funding.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), overall aid from the world’s richest countries has continued to increase since 2019, but the share of financial support that went to African countries fell to a 20-year low of around 25% in 2022.
Low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Africa, are spending more and more money on debt repayments, which limits the ability to invest in health, education and the fight against climate change. According to the UN, high interest rates on public debt only worsen the situation, as the cost of borrowing has increased in many countries around the world.
When Gates was asked about his charity’s role in debt relief, he recalled the year in 2005 when world leaders wrote off $40 billion in debt for 18 of the world’s poorest countries before the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
