AFRODAD at the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings, Bangkok

Event Details

International People's Assembly

AFRODAD will co-convene the thematic area on Debt, Tax and Fiscal Justice and International Finance at the International People’s Assembly, convened by the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) on the margins of the Annual Meetings. The Assembly will bring together civil society organisations and social movements from across the Global South to build a shared analysis of the global economic and financial system and agree on common demands toward the IMF, the World Bank and member states. As a co-convener, AFRODAD will help shape the discussions and ensure African priorities are reflected in the Assembly’s joint outcomes, including the African Borrowing Charter, the Common African Position on Debt and the call for a UN Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt. The Assembly provides an important Southern-led platform for AFRODAD to align advocacy messages with partners from Asia, Latin America and other regions ahead of the formal Annual Meetings engagements. Its outcomes will also inform AFRODAD’s advocacy throughout the week, including its Civil Society Policy Forum session on 13 October.

WBG Flagship: Small AI. Big jobs

AFRODAD will attend the World Bank Group’s flagship session on how AI can be applied at scale to create jobs, as part of the Bank’s broader agenda on jobs and digital transformation, which is increasingly shaping its lending and advisory work in Africa. AFRODAD will use the session to follow how AI and digital investments are financed and on what terms, particularly whether such initiatives could add to the borrowing pressures of countries already facing debt vulnerabilities. It will also track the transparency and accountability safeguards attached to these investments. The session connects with AFRODAD’s work on tax and fiscal justice and provides an opportunity to link discussions on digital transformation with the need for African countries to mobilise sufficient domestic revenues. It also sets the context for the IMF’s New Economy Forum on Taxation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence on 14 October, reinforcing AFRODAD’s call for financing approaches that expand fiscal space instead of deepening debt pressures.

Analytical Corner: The Great Coming Repression? New Measures and a Century of Evidence

AFRODAD will attend an IMF research presentation on financial repression, which will introduce new measures and draw on a century of evidence on policies that channel domestic savings towards government debt. However, the IMF has not yet published details of the findings. The session is particularly relevant as African governments increasingly turn to domestic borrowing as external financing becomes more difficult and expensive. AFRODAD will follow the implications for the rising volume and cost of domestic debt, banks’ exposure to government, the potential crowding out of private-sector credit, and the wider burden on citizens. The presentation will also provide an opportunity for AFRODAD to assess how the IMF frames financial repression as a policy option for developing countries, and whether the associated risks are adequately recognised. It reinforces AFRODAD’s position that debt sustainability assessments must capture the full picture of domestic and external debt, and their implications for economies and citizens.

Press Briefing: World Economic Outlook

AFRODAD will follow the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook briefing, which will present its projections for global growth and inflation, alongside its assessment of the outlook for sub-Saharan Africa. These projections shape the Fund’s policy advice and can influence how countries’ fiscal positions and debt sustainability are assessed. AFRODAD will examine how the IMF’s assumptions reflect the realities facing African countries, including high borrowing costs, heavy debt-service burdens and constrained fiscal space. Particular attention will be given to how the outlook accounts for debt pressure on spending on health, education and climate adaptation. The briefing is directly relevant to AFRODAD’s advocacy because IMF projections can shape national budgets, economic programmes and policy choices across the continent. AFRODAD will use the findings to inform rapid analysis and messaging for its CSPF session later that day.

CSO Roundtable with WBG Executive Directors

The roundtable will bring civil society organisations together with the Executive Directors of the World Bank Group, the Board that approves the Bank's lending and policies. It is one of the main formal week’s opportunities for civil society to table concerns directly to those who vote on Bank decisions. AFRODAD will use the discussion to raise its priorities: transparency in debt and contract terms, the rising cost of finance for African countries, and accountability for the impact of Bank-financed projects on communities. It will also stress the need for Bank support to be consistent with debt sustainability and with the principles of the African Borrowing Charter. The roundtable is relevant to AFRODAD's mandate because the Bank is a major creditor and policy influence across Africa. Points raised will feed into AFRODAD's CSPF session on the rising cost of development finance, held later the same day.

CSO Policy Brief on the Borrowers' Platform

AFRODAD will contribute to the launch of a civil society policy brief on the Borrowers’ Platform, organised by the Latin American Network on Debt, Development (Latindadd). The Platform provides a space for borrowing governments to share information and strengthen coordination and their negotiating position in debt discussions. AFRODAD co-authored the chapter on debt clauses and will present its contribution, drawing on its work on debt contracts, transparency and responsible borrowing, as well as the principles set out in the African Borrowing Charter. The launch provides an opportunity to bring AFRODAD’s research into discussions on how borrowing countries can coordinate more effectively, while linking its work to the broader push for a fairer, more transparent and predictable international debt architecture.

2 AFRODAD-Led Civil Society Policy Forum sessions:

Session 1: Rising Cost of Development Finance – How the Bretton Woods Institutions Can Deliver Development

AFRODAD will lead this official Civil Society Policy Forum session (CSPF), examining why the cost of development finance has risen for developing countries and what the IMF and World Bank can do to make financing more affordable, longer-term and better aligned with development needs. The session is co-sponsored by Latindadd, Third World Network, Christian Aid, the Bretton Woods Project, ActionAid International, the Centre for Science and Environment India, the Center for Economic and Social Rights, and Global Policy Forum Europe. As AFRODAD’s flagship contribution to the Annual Meetings, the session speaks directly to its core advocacy on debt and development finance. Across Africa, high borrowing costs and rising debt-service payments are putting pressure on public resources needed for health, education and climate adaptation. AFRODAD will present evidence and policy recommendations to representatives of the international financial institutions and civil society partners, drawing on the African Borrowing Charter and the Common African Position on Debt.

Session 2: The World Bank and Just Transition in an Era of Rupture

AFRODAD will co-organise and contribute to this CSPF session, which will examine the World Bank’s role in advancing a just transition amid economic and geopolitical disruption. The session brings together climate, finance and labour organisations, including Climate Action Network International, Eurodad and Oxfam International, and will be open to online participants. AFRODAD will bring its climate finance justice perspective, emphasising that climate action must not deepen Africa’s debt burden. It will draw attention to the balance between grants and loans, the affordability of climate finance, and the implications of the World Bank’s growing reliance on private capital. The session provides an important space for AFRODAD to connect its debt and climate justice agendas, while engaging partners and wider audiences beyond those attending in Bangkok. AFRODAD will share the online participation link and key highlights through its website and social media channels

Africa's Golden Future (Open IMF Session)

AFRODAD will contribute to the open IMF session on Africa’s growth prospects and the policies needed to realise them, with perspectives from African policymakers and a focus on opportunities linked to demographics, trade and investment. AFRODAD will examine how the growth narrative accounts for the continent’s debt and financing realities. High debt-service costs continue to constrain public resources, while illicit financial flows further reduce the resources available for development. The delegation will therefore consider whether proposed growth pathways can expand fiscal space, support essential public services and ensure that the benefits of growth are broadly shared. The discussion also provides an opportunity to contrast the IMF’s framing of Africa’s growth prospects with the priorities set out in the Common African Position on Debt, particularly its call for a more sustainable and development-oriented financing architecture.

Southern-led Global Debt Strategies

AFRODAD will co-organise this Southern-led strategy session, which will bring debt justice networks together to take stock of the evolving global debt crisis, identify the changes needed in the international financial architecture, and agree shared priorities and advocacy strategies for the years ahead. Led by the Latin American Network on Debt, Development (Latindadd), the session is co-organised by AFRODAD, the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Eurodad and Jubilee USA. AFRODAD will help shape the agenda and bring African priorities and policy positions into the discussion, including the Common African Position on Debt, the African Borrowing Charter and the call for a UN Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt. The session provides an important space to align advocacy across Africa, Asia and Latin America, where debt pressures and weaknesses in the global financial architecture continue to affect development prospects. It will also help partners strengthen coordination and identify areas for joint action beyond the Annual Meetings in Bangkok.

People's Assembly: Self-Organised Events and Closing Ceremony

AFRODAD will participate in the closing stage of the International People’s Assembly, organised by APMDD, which will bring together partner-led self-organised sessions and a closing ceremony to present the outcomes of the Assembly’s thematic areas. As a co-convener of the Debt, Tax and Fiscal Justice and International Finance thematic area, AFRODAD will help follow through on the outcomes and ensure African priorities are reflected in the Assembly’s final messages. These include the Common African Position on Debt and the call for a UN Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt. The closing ceremony provides an important platform to present shared civil society demands publicly and demonstrate solidarity among debt justice movements across the Global South. It also marks a point of alignment for continued joint advocacy beyond the Assembly.

Press Briefing: Fiscal Monitor

AFRODAD will follow the IMF’s Fiscal Monitor briefing, which examines global public debt trends, fiscal risks and policy options for governments. The publication is particularly relevant to AFRODAD’s work on debt, public finance and fiscal justice in Africa. AFRODAD will examine how the report addresses debt service, social spending and domestic revenue mobilisation, with particular attention to whether its policy recommendations account for the pressure debt payments place on health and education budgets and whether they prioritise revenue reforms alongside expenditure measures. As the Fiscal Monitor helps shape global thinking on public debt and informs policy advice to governments, its findings will feed directly into AFRODAD’s analysis and advocacy on debt sustainability, fiscal space and public finance accountability in Africa.

New Economy Forum: Rethinking Taxation for the AI Era

The discussion is relevant to AFRODAD’s work on public debt, tax justice and illicit financial flows, particularly the need to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation and reduce reliance on borrowing to finance development. AFRODAD will track how the IMF’s approach aligns with the ongoing UN process on international tax cooperation and African countries' efforts to advance a fairer global tax system, including addressing challenges in taxing large digital businesses.
The session provides an opportunity to examine how fairer taxation and stronger public revenues can help African countries reduce debt pressures, expand fiscal space and finance development priorities amid rapid digital transformation.

Mobilising Private Capital for Responsible Minerals Development

AFRODAD will attend this World Bank Group session on attracting private investment into mineral development while strengthening responsible sourcing standards, against the backdrop of rising global demand for critical minerals driven by the energy transition. AFRODAD will examine how Africa’s mineral resources are being financed and on what terms, with particular attention to contract transparency, fiscal terms, public-private arrangements and government guarantees that may create future liabilities. It will also follow the proposed safeguards and approaches to revenue sharing. The discussion connects directly to AFRODAD’s work on IFFs, resource-backed borrowing and public finance accountability. The terms on which Africa’s mineral wealth is financed will be critical to determining whether resource revenues expand fiscal space and support development, or they create new financial and debt risks for governments.

Feminist Green Industrial Policy

AFRODAD will contribute to the side event, organised by Open Society Foundations, FEMNET, APWLD and the Collaborative for Gender Just Economy, which will explore feminist approaches to green industrial policy and bring gender and economic justice perspectives into debates on the transition to greener economies. AFRODAD will connect its debt, public finance and fiscal justice work to the gendered impacts of economic policy. Rising debt-service costs can constrain public spending on essential services, with women often disproportionately affected through increased unpaid care work and reduced access to public services. The discussion will provide an opportunity to connect these concerns to the industrial and growth strategies being promoted by governments and international institutions. The event also offers AFRODAD an opportunity to strengthen collaboration with African and global women’s rights organisations, including FEMNET, and build broader alliances around gender-responsive debt and development finance.