19 September 2025 – As world leaders prepare for the 2025 G20 Summit, Malala Fund, alongside Plan International, MENAFem, Nala Feminist Collective and Restless Development, is calling for urgent debt reform to secure adolescent girls’ rights and unlock a more just and sustainable global economy.

The brief highlights how today’s global debt crisis is robbing adolescent girls of access to education, healthcare and safety — services that are slashed when governments are forced to prioritise debt repayments over public spending and makes the case for why debt justice is a critical girls’ rights issue. Outlining specific actions G20 leaders must take to protect public spending on these vital services for girls.

“When governments are forced to spend more on debt than on resources for their people, girls end up paying the highest price,” said Malala Yousafzai. “We need to reform broken debt systems to put adolescent girls’ needs before creditor interests. Because, when we invest in girls, we transform societies – building healthier, safer and more prosperous futures for everyone.”

In 2024 alone, the 10 countries with the most significant barriers to girls’ education spent four times more on debt servicing than on education — undermining the rights and futures of more than 32 million out-of-school girls. According to an earlier Malala Fund analysis, reducing debt service ratios to 10% of national revenues in lower-income countries could unlock $506 billion for education over the next five years.

The advocacy tool sets out:
- Why debt justice is a girls’ rights issue
- How the G20’s Common Framework is failing — and what must change
- Reforms needed to protect education and social spending
- A feminist agenda for long-term sustainable debt solutions
- Demands from girls for inclusion in decision-making

As the world faces an urgent need for economic reform, Malala Fund calls on G20 governments to prioritise people over profit — and girls before creditors.

With the G20 Common Framework under review, 2025 offers an opportunity to deliver on debt justice for girls and reimagine a global financial system that prioritises girls over creditors.

🔗 Read the full brief
For media inquiries or interview requests, please contact:

Julianna Longo
Senior Director of Strategic Communications, Malala Fund
[email protected]