Leaders from several of Africa’s largest countries including South Africa, Kenya, and Ethiopia renewed their urgent appeals on Tuesday for debt relief, debt cancellation, and immediate financial assistance from the international community to help support economies across the continent amid the increasingly dire economic crisis.

What’s notable about the latest pleas from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is how familiar they are. Since March, when the pandemic worsened in Africa, these and other African leaders have repeatedly issued similar appeals, all to little or no effect.