One large Eurobond creditors said on Monday that the government's lack of engagement has made providing near term debt relief impossible.

It added that it may consider other options as the country looks on track for an acrimonious debt restructuring.

Some observers say a failure to find compromise could be disastrous for all involved.

But Tim Jones from UK based Jubilee Debt Campaign says debt relief for some of the world's poorest countries should be provided.

Crisis of the last few years has come from trying to pay a debt that cannot be paid on the first step to dealing with that is acknowledging this debt can't prepared, therefore it won't be paid.

The pandemic dramatically accelerated Zambia's debt problems.

A decline in the currency pushed external borrowing to more than $11 billion last year.

Roughly half of the country's GDP from under $5 billion in 2014.

The $1.7 billion it owed in debt repayments this year was four times health spending.

The collapse in copper prices easily Zambia's biggest export, locked another third off the currency's value.

The government had requested that bondholders granted a deferral of interest payments until April.

But on Monday the creditors criticized a lack of direct discussion and additional information, as well as government plans to continue borrowing material amounts over the next three years.

Analysts and creditors said they expect Zambia could face a lengthy process of overhauling its debt.