BREAKING: @g20org Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors have agreed to suspend debt repayments for the world's poorest countries as they grapple with #COVID19. Here’s why this is HUGE news. 1/6

While there’s been a lot of attention on the domestic #COVID19 response, we must not forget that it’s the world’s poorest that will be hit the hardest. In Africa, tourism has been crushed; jobs lost; foreign investment stalling. 2/6

To underscore just how important the debt issue is: Globally, 64 countries — 30 of them in Sub-Saharan Africa — spend more on repaying public debt than investing in public health. More than a 1/3 of African countries are at risk of debt distress. 3/6

The @g20org decision will make a real difference in the short term, enabling the world’s poorest to prioritize the #COVID19 response & protect hard-won development gains. 4/6

We won’t beat #COVID19 until we beat it everywhere. And we won’t blunt the economic impact unless we have a global recovery that leaves no one behind. Today’s announcement is a victory for global cooperation. We’ve needed one. 5/6

However, this is not game over, this is step 1. More will be needed to prevent a global economic crisis and protect the world’s most vulnerable people everywhere. Private creditors, @IMFNews & @WorldBank should build on this momentum. 6/6 https://www.one.org/international/press/one-responds-to-g20-decision-to-suspend-debt-repayments/