Ugandan Activists Demand Debt Justice as World Leaders Meet in Seville

 By Roy Nakyobe

As global leaders convened for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, Ugandan activists have joined a worldwide chorus demanding bold, people-centered solutions to the growing debt crisis threatening the future of developing nations.

Debt for Climate Uganda, a local movement at the forefront of the campaign, has issued a powerful call for full debt cancellation, denouncing what it terms “false solutions” such as debt swaps and private finance schemes that have only deepened inequality and delayed real progress.

“Uganda’s debt has more than doubled in the last decade,” the movement states. “This has drained critical resources from essential services like health, education, and climate adaptation. Millions are paying the price.” Samalie Tabo the chairperson Debt for Climate Uganda.

Activists argue that the current system of borrowing, driven by powerful creditors and opaque negotiations, robs Uganda of its sovereignty and forces the country into a vicious cycle of borrowing and austerity. In response, they are demanding the establishment of a United Nations Convention on Sovereign Debt, aimed at setting fair, transparent rules to replace the secretive and often exploitative terms set by wealthy nations and financial institutions.

Beyond economics, Debt for Climate Uganda insists this is a matter of justice, survival, and dignity. “Grants-based climate finance is essential,” they stress, “not more loans that trap us in perpetual crisis.”

Quoting the late Pan-Africanist Thomas Sankara, “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu”—the movement emphasized the urgent need for Uganda and other Global South nations to have a meaningful voice in shaping global financial systems.

As the world debates financial reforms in Seville, Uganda’s message is clear: the time for debt justice is now. Without it, climate action and social development remain out of reach for the countries that need it most.