By Peter Phiri:
President Lazarus Chakwera has implored upon world leaders to stop practicing what he described as collective negligence by sidelining developing countries in addressing global challenges.
Speaking in New York, at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Chakwera told the assembly that smaller Nations and young democracies continues to grapple with pandemics, Climate Change, Economic, insecurity and food shortages among the challenges defaulting United Nations’ sustainable development goals target for 2030.
Chakwera said, “We all know that pandemics are a global problem that
will never be solved unless all nations solve it together, yet in the rollout of vaccines and application of travel
restriction, we have been left behind.
“And we all know that food shortage is a global problem that will never be solved until all nations solve it together, yet in the allocation of international facilities
for agro-based and debt-distressed economies, we have been left behind.
And as a result of our collective negligence, the global economy is now a house on fire, yet we continue to use
evacuation methods that rush some nations out to safety while leaving the rest of us behind to fend for
ourselves in the burning building”.
Chakwera then challenged member states to concentrate on rendering unwavering support towards the vulnerable nations to catch up in all the sidelined areas .
Meanwhile, President Chakwera has played to bilateral parterners through the assembly to desperately help vulnerable Least Developing Countries (LDCs) including Malawi which he said are engulfed with unsustainable debt levels and distress.
“It is not for nothing that the
Scriptures, which are regarded as sacred to more than half the people on this planet, describe unsustainable debt as a form of slavery. And as leaders of generations past worked together to end old forms of slavery, so we too must work together to end this new form,” he said.
Recently, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva called on the world’s major lenders to show leadership by relieving vulnerable countries of debts that are shackling and remain unsustainable in the recent and current climate of
relentless and unforeseen external shocks.
Two weeks ago, People’s Republic of China retired debt for 17 African Countries in Fulfillment of
China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
