The Stop the Bleeding Campaign (STBc) is a civil society-led movement united by a shared vision of an Africa where all citizens live with dignity in a just, integrated, and prosperous continent. Its members include the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD); Africa Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET); International Trade Union Confederation Africa (ITUC Africa); Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU); Nawi – Afrifem Macroeconomics Collective; Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA); and TrustAfrica.
At the heart of the campaign is Africa’s growing public debt crisis and the enormous financial resources lost through illicit financial flows (IFFs). Across the continent, mounting public debt and high interest repayments are draining resources that could otherwise be invested in healthcare, education, social protection, infrastructure, people's well-being and sustainable development. Instead, an increasingly significant share of public revenue is diverted towards servicing debt, placing further pressure on already constrained national budgets and deepening development challenges.
The cost of borrowing exposes a deep inequality in the global financial system. According to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Africa's average cost of financing stands at 11.6%, approximately 8.5 percentage points above the US risk-free benchmark. This means African countries face significantly higher borrowing costs than developed economies, leaving them paying a steep premium to access financing for their development. The burden is compounded by the sharp rise in interest payments: over the past decade, Africa's interest payments increased by 132%, compared with approximately 64% across developing countries. These escalating costs divert public resources away from essential services and long-term development investments.
The consequences of this debt burden are not felt equally. Women and girls are disproportionately affected as debt servicing pressures and fiscal austerity often lead to cuts in essential public services, including healthcare, education and social protection. These cuts deepen existing feminist debt injustices, increase women's unpaid care responsibilities and undermine the rights, livelihoods and opportunities of women and girls across the continent.
This crisis is compounded by illicit financial flows, with African countries estimated to lose US$88.6 billion annually through these flows. IFFs deprive governments of vital domestic resources, weaken their capacity to finance development, and contribute to the cycle of borrowing that leaves many countries increasingly exposed to debt distress.
The STBc recognises the deep interconnections between public debt and IFFs. Excessive interest repayments, illegitimate or odious debts, and resources lost through corruption and illicit financial flows represent significant leakages of Africa's wealth. Together, these challenges reinforce a vicious cycle in which resources generated by African economies fail to translate into meaningful improvements in people's lives.
Beyond exposing these financial leakages, the Stop the Bleeding Campaign is advancing reforms of the global financial architecture to address the structural inequalities that perpetuate Africa's debt burden and facilitate illicit financial flows. It advocates for a fairer, more transparent and accountable global financial system that enables African countries to mobilise and retain domestic resources, secure equitable and sustainable financing, and pursue development priorities without compromising the well-being and rights of their people.
The Stop the Bleeding Campaign calls for an end to the continent's bleeding, and for Africa's resources to be reclaimed and redirected towards the priorities that matter most: people, feminist debt justice, public services, economic justice and sustainable development.