WORLD BANK DEBT CANCELLATION AGREED

The World Bank yesterday finally agreed the cancellation of up to $37 billion of poor country debts, as part of the deal first announced by the G8 in 2005. Thank you to all supporters who put pressure on G8 governments and the World Bank over the last year – and kept pushing over the details until the last minute. Your pressure paid off!

Debt campaigners have long been calling for 100% cancellation of World Bank debts – a principle which this deal now puts into practice (at least for some countries, on debts up to a certain date). Most recently, Jubilee Debt Campaign supporters and others worldwide had been emailing the World Bank protesting that their proposals for delivering the G8 deal would have left poor countries facing a delay of up to 15 months between qualifying for this debt cancellation and actually getting it! Many thousands of you emailed – the World Bank has now reversed this decision. Thank you for keeping the pressure on right up until the last minute!

Of course this deal does not provide everything you have long called for – full cancellation of all unpayable and unjust debts, an end to harmful and unfair conditions, and a fair, open process for resolving debt crises. But it is a very important step – and your campaigning was crucial. Zambia, for instance, has just released its new budget: both health and education spending are going up as a result of debt cancellation, which is making possible plans for 4,500 new teachers, a school building programme, new healthcare staff and an expanded HIV/AIDS programme.

-Source . . . Update from Jubilee Debt Campaign