African Faith Leaders discuss strategies to navigate contemporary crises

By Edoardo Giribaldi

Caritas, the Jesuits, and JubileeUSA hosted a two-day meeting at the Elysian Resort in Nairobi to engage in discussions concerning how best to navigate Africa through the contemporary crises afflicting the entire continent.

Africa's crisis

The final statement wrapping up the event individuated, among them, "the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, food and nutrition insecurity, climate change, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, fragile health systems, conflicts, terrorism, and debts."

The meeting, held on 7-8 August, consisted of presentations, panel discussions, and interactive sessions featuring faith leaders from across the continent, together with "Church and non-Church experts," as assessed by an initial document released by the institutions that organized the event.

The press release mentioned how, in Africa's challenging context, the Catholic Church played a crucial role "given its long-standing commitment to promoting social justice and human dignity."

African Faith Leaders gathered in Nairobi

"Its vast network of educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and social service programs," the statement affirmed, "touch millions of lives, providing context-specific solutions to the continent's diverse issues."

A critical debt crisis

The final document signed by leaders of Catholic and other Christian Faith Denominations, Muslim and Indigenous Religions, highlighted a critical debt crisis, affecting the "social sector spending to achieve the global sustainable development and climate goals."

Faith leaders traced an overview of today's African economic crisis starting from the late 1990s, when "our faith communities were among those gathered in the Jubilee movement to advocate for breaking the chains of debt in developing countries."

As the new Jubilee year approaches, "that promise remains unfulfilled."

Addressing inequities

"We celebrated that world leaders delivered $130 billion in debt relief, which helped advance poverty reduction spending in recipient countries," the document recognized.

However, "without addressing the inequities in the international financial system and domestic governance challenges in recipient countries, the crippling burden of unsustainable debts persists."

Specifically, "today African countries owe collectively more than $1.1 trillion in external debt, and 25 of them are in deep debt crises."

"Rising interest rates in major economies and slowing growth inflate debt payments," the leaders noted, "while cost-of-living trends erode wages and incomes." 

Investments and struggles

Vast investments are needed "to save the planet that sustains life in Africa and elsewhere, during a window that is rapidly closing."

African Faith Leaders discuss ideas to navigate contemporary crises

The statement connected the struggles that poor countries encountered trying to respond to the "health, economic and social effects" of the Covid-19 pandemic to the evident "underinvestment in health, education, food, and social protection."

Actions needed

The document pinpointed several areas of action to face the critical crises.

First, a process of debt reduction "that guarantees borrowers can request and rapidly achieve reductions of debt payments to, at least, the extent needed to protect essential development and climate investments."

Faith leaders also called on countries "to put in place laws, regulations, and practices that enforce responsible lending and borrowing" in order "to prevent new cycles of debt."

Other expected policies include "access to concessional loans" and the eradication of "theft of public funds and corruption of all types" in financial management.

"A robust testament"

The statement defined the meeting as "not merely a gathering but a robust testament to the cohesive strength of interfaith unity, combined wisdom, and a shared commitment to justice."

"Informed by our Sacred Scriptures and moral convictions," the document concluded, "we resolutely address the pressing issues of debt, governance, and socio-economic disparities plaguing the African continent."