Explains that the reason for the failure of recent initiatives to alleviate the poorest countries' debt-related issues is an inability to bring sovereign countries to the table to re-negotiate their debt agreements with private creditors, as they fear the credit rating agencies and the prospect of a downgrade: the 'Credit Ratings impasse'.

Daniel Cash is a Senior Lecturer at Aston University, UK, a Fulbright Scholar at New York University's Stern Business School, and specialises in the regulation of the credit rating industry.

Introduction 1. A Modern History of Debt Treatment for African Countries 2. The Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic 3. The DSSI, The Common Framework, and the Credit Rating Impasse 4. Resolving the Credit Rating Impasse: Part One 5. Resolving the Credit Rating Impasse: Part Two 6. The Future for Africa Conclusion