Poor countries forced to cut public spending to pay debts, campaigners say

Exclusive: Debt Justice calls on UK to use power to make private lenders take part in effective relief scheme

The lack of an effective debt relief scheme is forcing some of the world's poorest countries to cut public spending to keep up payments to their creditors, research reveals.

A report by Debt Justice says the most heavily indebted nations were expected to reduce public expenditure by 3% on average between 2019 and 2023 despite the need to counter the impact of spiralling food and energy prices.