About

The global debt crisis continues to deepen, with devastating consequences for people in the Global South.

The Real Cost of Debt is a multimedia storytelling project which focuses on the human impacts of the debt crisis. It uncovers the stories behind the debt data through the words and experiences of people directly affected in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The stories, that will be shared here between May and October 2026  focus on one or more of the following thematic areas:

  • Debt & climate justice
  • Debt & democracy
  • Debt & gender justice
  • Debt & food sovereignty
  • Debt & Just Transition
  • Debt in SIDS

Read more about The Real Cost of Debt