Who pays the price when the global economy falters, and whose voices shape decisions that determine our collective future? These questions stayed with me at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, from October 12 to 18, 2026, where I represented the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
More than 2,000 community and civil society representatives joined policymakers, finance ministers, central bank governors and private sector leaders to challenge debt burdens, lending conditionalities and climate injustice.
Protests on October 15 near the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, where the meetings were held, brought these concerns into public view, exposing the gap between development promises and people's lived realities. Amid mounting debt, climate crisis and limited resources for development, the human cost of this was laid bare.
These tensions reflect an unequal global economic order in which powerful economies influence financial rules while poorer nations bear a disproportionate share of the costs. Africa's persistent debt distress illustrates this imbalance as debt servicing narrows governments' room to invest in development.
Against this backdrop, African finance ministers are advancing a Common African Position on Debt, calling for an end to IMF loan surcharges and a pause on front-loaded austerity measures that deepen poverty, fuel social unrest and undermine development.
During a discussion on inequality and economic justice, Professor Jayati Ghosh, an Indian development economist and Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, offered a pointed assessment of international financial institutions, stating that “Like all bullies, the IFIs are also cowards.” She argued that these institutions can change their approach when governments resist inappropriate policy prescriptions. However, governments may be intimidated by their influence or prioritise capital over citizens.
Ghosh also described this influence as the “colonisation of the mind”, expounding on the internalisation of dominant economic tenets by finance ministers, central bankers and policymakers. Governments may retain formal authority while relying on economic frameworks that limit their willingness to consider alternatives. Challenging international financial institutions’ influence therefore requires not only negotiating loan conditions but also questioning the assumptions underpinning national development choices.
The debate also extended to employment. Ghosh questioned whether the World Bank’s focus on job creation meaningfully departs from its established economic model, since more jobs do not necessarily mean decent work. Policies that prioritise job numbers while overlooking wages, security, labour rights, unpaid care work and the social value of public employment risk reproducing inequality.
These discussions connected directly with my contribution to a civil society policy forum session, where I presented research on the socioeconomic impacts of IMF and World Bank conditionalities across Africa. Drawing on case studies from Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt and Ethiopia, I examined how debt servicing, austerity and regressive fiscal policies undermine economic sovereignty, deepen inequality and compromise access to essential public services.
I called for people-centred, rights-based alternatives to debt governance, recognising that decisions about debt and economic policy have consequences far beyond national balance sheets. They shape public budgets, access to essential services, livelihoods and the opportunities available to future generations.
For Kenya, this means scrutinising borrowing, fiscal consolidation, and privatisation to ensure economic decisions uphold constitutional obligations and socioeconomic rights while fairly distributing the costs and benefits of development. Financial sustainability remains important, but it must not come at the expense of those least able to absorb economic shocks.
Ultimately, addressing Africa’s debt challenges requires greater accountability, fairer lending practices and a genuine commitment to development that serves citizens. Governments must have the policy space to invest in essential services, protect vulnerable populations and pursue inclusive growth without compromising the rights and wellbeing of their people.
ANNET NERIMA
Programme Manager for Political Accountability in State Institutions at the Kenya Human Rights Commission
