{"id":30127,"date":"2026-03-30T21:07:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T21:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/03\/30\/developing-countries-are-paying-a-price-in-the-struggle-for-affordable-finance\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:07:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T21:07:17","slug":"developing-countries-are-paying-a-price-in-the-struggle-for-affordable-finance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/03\/30\/developing-countries-are-paying-a-price-in-the-struggle-for-affordable-finance\/","title":{"rendered":"Developing countries are paying a price in the struggle for affordable finance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

A credit rating<\/strong> A measure of how likely a borrower, such as a government, is to repay its loan on time and in full. For sovereign states, the rating affects how much countries pay to borrow in international markets: the lower the rating, the higher the perceived risk and typically the higher the interest costs.<\/p>\n

The current system too often “depends on”Outdated and incomplete information”, <\/strong>Unfairly punishing countries in global capital markets UN Deputy Chief Amina Mohammed<\/a> Told about the inauguration of the United Nations Economic and Social Council<\/a>ECOSOC, Special Meeting on Credit Ratings, delivering remarks on behalf of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. <\/p>\n

\u201cAdequate and timely finance is the fuel that drives sustainable development<\/strong>,\u201d the Deputy Secretary-General warned, adding that \u201ctoday that fuel is running dangerously low, and it is becoming more expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pointed to annual debt service costs of about $1.4 trillion in developing countries, while even more 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt interest payments than on health or education.<\/strong><\/p>\n

global instability<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ms Mohammed also said The crisis is deepening due to global instability<\/strong>. Rising costs of fuel and raw materials linked to conflict and economic instability are exacerbating fiscal pressures and slowing growth, while climate-sensitive countries are facing disaster losses without access to affordable recovery financing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very important matter,\u201d Ms Mohammed said.<\/p>\n

Credit reform efforts expanded<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ms Mohammed also linked the credit ratings debate to broader efforts to reform the global debt architecture and pointed to new steps aimed at giving developing countries a stronger voice in debt discussions.<\/p>\n

These include a borrower forum, working on the principles of responsible sovereign lending and borrowing, and a UN-led process bringing together debtor and creditor countries, private creditors, international financial institutions, academia and civil society.<\/p>\n

He also cited the planned African Credit Rating Agency as an example of efforts to improve data, transparency and risk assessment.<\/p>\n

Call for reimagining ratings<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ms Mohammed urges a major change in how sovereign ratings are designed, arguing the assessment Must seize not only insecurity, but also opportunity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must change the mindset from long-term speculation to long-term investment,\u201d he said, calling for a broader, more transparent and forward-looking methodology that better reflects countries’ real prospects.<\/p>\n

Ms Mohammed stressed that affordable lending for development can strengthen the country’s future solvency. <\/p>\n

He said investments in health, education, infrastructure, climate resilience and renewable energy can create prosperity, reduce risks and improve economic stability over time.<\/p>\n

He also criticized narrow measures of progress and emphasized that “GDP tells us the price of everything and very little<\/strong>“<\/p>\n

Ms Mohammed called for stronger data and unbiased methodology, as well as greater accountability from governments, investors and rating providers alike.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow is the time to transform credit ratings from constraints to contributors to long-term finance and sustainable development<\/strong>\u201cMs Mohammed urged a new approach that helps developing countries secure the financing they need.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A credit rating A measure of how likely a borrower, such as a government, is to repay its loan on time and in full. For sovereign states, the rating affects how much countries pay to borrow in international markets: the lower the rating, the higher the perceived risk and typically the higher the interest costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[1360,573,5635,706,7125,1708,3983],"class_list":{"0":"post-30127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bible-verse","8":"tag-affordable","9":"tag-countries","10":"tag-developing","11":"tag-finance","12":"tag-paying","13":"tag-price","14":"tag-struggle"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30127"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30130,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30127\/revisions\/30130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}