Debt Relief: Good Enough for Iraq, Why not Africa?
9 June 2004
For more information, contact:
Adrienne Leicester Smith
617-728-2406 (office)
asmith@oxfamamerica.org
Savannah, GA (June 9, 2004)—The international agency Oxfam today welcomed the proposal to cancel $90 billion of Iraq's foreign debt, and urged G8 leaders to do the same for Africa. Deep debt relief is crucial if African nations are to invest in improving the lives of their citizens.
"Zambia, Mali, Niger and the Gambia spend more on debt servicing each year than they do on education," said Irungu Houghton, Oxfam's Africa Policy Advisor. "If G8 Leaders are willing to write off $90 billion for Iraq, why not a third of that for Africa?"
The debt of the 42 poorest and most indebted countries amounts to $35 billion. The World Bank estimates that a minimum of $2.3 billion new relief is needed immediately to keep its HIPC program from collapse.
Rich countries can afford the deeper debt relief required. What they cannot afford is the current crisis of poverty and instability. Debt relief is an essential component of the G8 Leaders' commitment to African peace and security.
The G8's Africa Action Plan—regarding education, good governance, conflict prevention, water, corruption and health—will amount to little unless there is relief from the crushing debt burden
"Well-intentioned declarations without significant transfers of resources ring hollow on a continent in need of global action," Mr. Houghton added.
