The End Austerity Campaign hosted an official side event at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), focusing on Financing Alternatives Towards Universal Social Protection and Public Services for All.
The event featured high-level speakers including Attiya Waris, UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights; Isabel Ortiz, Director of Global Social Justice and co-author of the landmark 2022 End Austerity Report; and Faides TembaTemba, Country Director of ActionAid Zambia.
Panelists addressed the structural drivers of austerity and exposed critical flaws in the current international financial architecture. The discussion highlighted how austerity is linked to issues of debt, taxation, and illicit financial flows, and included testimonies of country-level experiences with austerity measures. The event also explored financing alternatives that prioritize universal social protection and public services for all.
The event was co-organised by ActionAid International, Akina Mama wa Afrika, Bretton Woods Project, Centre for Economic and Social Rights, Education International, Financial Transparency Coalition, Global Social Justice, IBON International, MENAFem Movement, and Reality of Aid Asia Pacific.
This session contributed to the growing momentum of global civil society calling for an end to austerity and the adoption of bold, just alternatives.
