Historic recognition at the G20 is a step forward — but without real debt relief and a gender lens, girls will keep paying the price.
G20 finally said it: the debt crisis is an education crisis
Around the world, governments cannot invest in girls’ education, health, safety or equality when a broken and unjust debt system forces them to spend more on external debt servicing than on essential public services. Low-income countries now spend 3 times more on debt repayments than on education. Did this year’s G20 — the world’s 20 major economies — prioritise girls over creditors? Not exactly.
What the G20 said vs. what they did
The 2025 G20 Leaders’ Declaration, adopted in Johannesburg, recognised the severity of the global debt crisis — but failed to act with the urgency needed to protect girls’ rights, education and futures.
For the first time in G20 history, leaders explicitly recognise that high debt levels “limit countries’ ability to invest in healthcare, education, and other development needs. ”Until now, debt and education were treated as unrelated issues.
This shift matters because it reflects what Malala Fund and partners have long argued: when governments prioritise debt repayments or impose austerity, girls lose access to essential services — from education and nutrition to health and protection.
The declaration highlights that many low-income countries, particularly in Africa, face high financing costs, large refinancing needs and soaring interest payments, which have more than doubled over the past decade. This results in underfunded schools, teacher shortages, school meal cuts, and higher fees — forcing girls out of school and into child marriage, exploitation and violence.
Despite identifying the problem more explicitly than ever before, the G20 offered no new commitments to relieve unsustainable debts, lower payments or regulate creditor behaviour.
In five years, only four countries (Chad, Zambia, Ghana, Ethiopia) have received debt relief — proof that the system is too slow and too divorced from social outcomes to deliver, especially for girls.
The G20 also understands the consequences of debt on social and economic rights, but still fails to understand its gendered consequences. Leaders did not make the connection that girls themselves have raised: debt distress deepens gender inequality and heightens risks like child marriage.
What needs to happen next
At a moment when low-income countries spend 3 times as much on debt servicing than they do on education, the G20 failed to act with urgency. Governments must protect spending on education and healthcare, create space in budgets for schools and include adolescent girls and young women in debt accountability and decision-making processes.
Debt reform that ignores gender inequality is incomplete — and unjust.
Girls’ futures depend on what leaders do next.
