By Alan Clement
South Sudan and much of the Horn of Africa risk missing the 2030 development deadline as crippling debt, high borrowing costs and a broken global finance system block investment in basic services, a new UN-backed report warns.
The Sustainable Development Report 2025, identified lack of fiscal space caused by debt distress as the single biggest barrier to progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in fragile and conflict-affected states, including South Sudan
According to the report, roughly half of the world’s population now lives in countries that “cannot invest adequately in sustainable development due to debt burdens and a lack of access to affordable, long-term capital,” a reality that is particularly acute across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Horn of Africa
South Sudan, ranked last on the 2025 SDG Index, is cited among countries where conflict, insecurity and limited fiscal space combine to stall progress across nearly all development goals.
The report noted that none of the 17 SDGs are currently on track globally, but warned that low-income and post-conflict countries are falling furthest behind because they are effectively locked out of international capital markets.
Short-term, high-interest borrowing, punitive credit ratings and rigid debt sustainability rules have left governments unable to fund health, education, food security and climate resilience at scale.
“The global financial architecture is broken,” the report said, noting that capital “flows readily to rich countries and not to the emerging and developing economies that offer higher growth potential and rates of return”
As a result, poorer countries are forced to service expensive debt rather than invest in long-term development, perpetuating cycles of fragility and humanitarian dependence.
For South Sudan, the warning comes against a backdrop of prolonged economic crisis, inflation, widespread food insecurity and heavy reliance on humanitarian aid.
Years of conflict and instability have weakened institutions and revenue collection, while climate shocks and displacement continue to strain limited public resources.
Despite peace agreements and reform pledges, the country remains highly vulnerable to external financing conditions it does not control.
The report criticized existing debt sustainability frameworks used by international financial institutions, arguing they discourage long-term borrowing for infrastructure and human capital.
Instead, they favor short maturities that expose countries to refinancing risks and sudden financial shocks. This, the report authors argued, creates “self-fulfilling panics” when governments are unable to roll over debt as it falls due
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the consequences are visible in stalled progress on key goals such as Zero Hunger, Peace and Strong Institutions, and Climate Action.
The report noted that while many countries have made gains in access to electricity, mobile connectivity and child survival, these advances are increasingly undermined by conflict, debt stress and underinvestment in public services
The report called on UN member states to scale up debt relief, increase concessional financing, and reform credit rating practices that systematically penalize African economies.
High-income countries, the report argues, bear a special responsibility to act, both to close financing gaps and to address historical and environmental injustices.
It pointed out that global public goods, including climate adaptation and biodiversity protection, remain vastly underfunded, while official development assistance is “in free fall” amid political retrenchment in donor countries
For countries like South Sudan, the authors advocate debt restructuring with longer maturities, debt-for-climate and debt-for-development swaps, and expanded multilateral development bank lending tailored to fragile contexts.
Without such measures, the report warned, development goals will remain unattainable regardless of domestic reform efforts.
The report also highlighted stark global disparities in political commitment to multilateral solutions, warning that unilateral financial and trade measures further restrict developing countries’ ability to invest in sustainable development.
It urged UN member states to reaffirm Agenda 2030 and avoid actions that undermine collective progress
As the 2030 deadline approaches, the report concluded that sustainable development remains achievable, but only if global financing rules change fundamentally.
“Capital should flow to where returns are highest and needs are greatest,” it says, warning that failure to reform the system will entrench poverty, instability and humanitarian crises across regions like the Horn of Africa for decades to come