Does debt relief work?
It certainly does! The UN calls debt relief "a highly effective form of development assistance”, as it helps to free up badly-needed funds for essential services like education and healthcare.How much debt has been cancelled? More than 23 of the poorest countries in the world have received over $88 billion in debt cancellation. |
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What's been done with the money? There is good evidence that spending on public services has risen across countries that have received debt cancellation. For example, in ten African countries that have had debts cancelled, there has been an increase of around 40% on education spending, and a massive 70% on healthcare. |
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But doesn't corruption mean debt cancellation is wasted? No, not at all. Corruption is, or has been, a problem in some countries, but this doesn’t negate the benefits of debt cancellation. |
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Where can I find out more? Look in this section for sources of the facts and statistics quoted in this section, plus some further reading on the benefits of debt relief. |
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