The cancellation of unpayable debt
Thanks to a worldwide campaign, rich countries have cancelled over $83 billion of debt owed by more than 20 poor countries.
From the world’s largest petition to demonstrations of people encircling summits in a ‘human chain’, campaigning by ordinary people all over the world has been crucial in winning this progress.
Many of the world’s poorest countries have huge debts, often the result of careless or self-interested lending by the rich world in the 1970s. As a result governments cannot spend money on public services such as health or education.
Kenya’s national budget for debt payments in 2005/06 was as much as for health, water, agriculture, roads, transport and finance put together!
Debt relief can make a huge difference. In countries that have received debt cancellation, spending on health services has risen on average by 70%. Not only that, but this money is being used effectively. For example, nearly 70% of all births in Bolivia are now attended by a health professional.
The struggle continues to push for further debt cancellation for more countries, and to stop the practice of attaching damaging and undemocratic strings to debt cancellation. Dropping the debt is vital for tackling developing countries’ health crises.
Read more about debt and health.
Download a four page briefing, produced by Jubilee Debt Campaign with Health Poverty Action and Oxfam:
Debt and health briefing (277.59 kB)
Last modified: 15/12/2010
