ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) has expressed concern over the growing impact of climate change and Nigeria's debt burden on women, girls, children, and other vulnerable communities. The organization made this statement in Abuja in collaboration with the Euphrates Climate Foundation and other partners under the Renewed Women's Voice and Leadership Project, funded by Global Affairs Canada. This call to action follows the release of ActionAid's international flagship report, "Debt Fuels the Climate Crisis: How the Finance Flows".
According to the report, the world's most climate-vulnerable countries are spending nearly 25 times more on debt repayments than on climate action. Furthermore, 93.5% of these countries are either in debt crisis or at significant risk of debt distress. ActionAid Nigeria emphasized that these global findings have direct implications for Nigeria, where climate change, environmental degradation, and economic pressures are increasingly threatening livelihoods and deepening vulnerabilities.
The effects of climate change and environmental degradation are evident in Nigeria's oil-producing regions, where pollution has contaminated rivers, undermined farming and fishing activities, and damaged the environment. This has led to loss of livelihoods, rising food costs, and increased poverty. ActionAid Nigeria questioned how the country could adequately finance essential services such as flood protection, resilient agriculture, healthcare, education, and renewable energy when a significant proportion of public revenue is committed to debt repayment.
The organization highlighted that the burden of the climate and debt crises is not evenly distributed, with women and girls being particularly vulnerable to climate disasters and cuts in public services. Women are often forced to travel longer distances for water, reduce their food intake when resources become scarce, and shoulder increased unpaid care responsibilities. Girls, on the other hand, face a higher risk of dropping out of school when household incomes decline.
ActionAid Nigeria also expressed concern that children and young people are inheriting the consequences of decisions being made today through weakened education and healthcare systems, reduced economic opportunities, and greater exposure to climate-related shocks. Globally, countries in the Global South are paying about 225 times more in debt repayments than they receive in grant-based climate finance. Much of the climate finance provided to developing countries comes in the form of loans, potentially worsening the debt burden of countries already facing financial difficulties.
ActionAid Nigeria called for the cancellation and restructuring of unsustainable and unjust debt, increased grant-based climate finance, and reforms to the global debt system. The organization urged the Federal Government to strengthen domestic financing for climate adaptation and resilience, including sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, flood prevention, and locally led initiatives. They also demanded transparent public debt and climate audits involving women, young people, and communities directly affected by climate change.
Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Andrew Mamedu, emphasized that climate justice should ultimately focus on people whose livelihoods and futures are being threatened by the twin crises. He stated that countries should not have to borrow their way out of a climate crisis. ActionAid Nigeria's demands aim to ensure that debt servicing does not crowd out investments in essential services and that climate budgets are gender-responsive and disability-inclusive.
Key points
- Climate change and debt burden have a disproportionate impact on women and girls in Nigeria.
- The country's debt repayments are projected to consume more than half of government revenue in 2026.
- ActionAid Nigeria is calling for the cancellation and restructuring of unsustainable debt and increased grant-based climate finance.
