Check out our article published yesterday in Yes! Magazine online:
Debt Relief: The Results Are In
Debt relief has allowed poor nations to pay for schools and health care instead of loan interest. A new bill in the U.S. Congress would offer relief to more countries and make lending more responsible.
by Hayley Hathawayposted Dec 17, 2009
Pressure is building from civil society to build on the successes of debt relief by addressing past odious debt and creating a fairer system for future borrowing.
Today, the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation was introduced in the House of Representatives by a bipartisan group of Congressional leaders, including Maxine Waters (D-CA), Barney Frank (D-VT), Spencer Bachus (R-AL), and seven other Republican and Democratic representatives. The bill would increase the number of nations eligible for debt relief from 40 to 62 and create a framework for responsible lending, so countries won't get back into debt in the future.
The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008 but did not come up for a vote in the Senate before the congressional session expired.
Debt relief works
Peter Chibize walked twelve miles from his village in southern Zambia to the nearest health clinic, unsure how he would convince the doctor to treat his chest pains, headache, and cough for free. He agonized until a nurse told him that he did not have to pay. "It was like a dream to me," said Chibize."Not to pay anything when you visit a clinic is amazing."
This is one of the stories featured in a new report, "Debt Relief Works: The Impacts of Debt Cancellation in Africa and Latin America" by Jubilee USA Network, an alliance of over 75 organizations working for definitive debt cancellation for impoverished countries and reform of the international financial institutions and architecture.
Zambia is one of dozens of countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia whose debt has been canceled as the result of a citizen-led global movement. Through two international debt deals in 1999 and 2005, more than $100 billion has been delivered back to the world's most impoverished countries to be used for desperately needed social services.

Recent Comments