Status check: debt relief delivery

Last month, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund released their annual report on the status of debt cancellation for the world’s poorest countries.

ONE’s debt expert and Berlin-based Policy Manager Andreas Huebers sent along the following summary after combing through the report:

In September, the IMF and World Bank released their annual report on the progress of debt cancellation. In the last year, two African countries have started to benefit from debt relief- Liberia (which ONE members helped make possible) and the Central African Republic. The Gambia has also completed its debt relief program. These developments bring the overall debt cancellation provided by the HIPC and MDRI initiatives from $105 billion to $111 billion. The next African countries that are expected to progress to the next stage in the coming months are Togo, Cote d’Ivoire Burundi and Guinea.

Debt relief is continuing to free up government resources to fight poverty. The report found that in post-decision point HIPC countries, government expenditures targeting poverty reduction increased on average from under 7% of GDP in 2000 to 9% in 2006. This translated to $17 billion in 2006, which represents a substantial increase of $3 billion since 2005. These expenditures are more than five times the level what countries now paying to service their debts, a major improvement from a decade ago when some countries were spending more repaying old debts than on health and education combined.

Read more about how the financial crisis might impact debt cancellation.

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The 2008 G8 Summit: Outcomes for Africa

African development was again the subject of G8 discussions as world leaders gathered in Toyako, Hokkaido in northern Japan from July 7-9 for the 2008 G8 Summit. While the G8 was confronted with multiple global challenges, including climate change and a weakening global economy, the 2008 Hokkaido Summit marked an important “mid point” moment in the fight against poverty. The Hokkaido Summit came at the critical halfway point to both the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the G8 Gleneagles promises to Africa. The G8 are dangerously behind on their landmark commitments to the region, having delivered only $3 billion of the promised $25 billion in additional assistance to Africa by 2010, according to the 2008 DATA Report.

After difficult negotiations, the G8 summit yielded small gains for the poorest. The bulk of G8 agreements on development and Africa and food security reiterated previous pledges rather than outlining new measures to get the group back on track. The G8 did announce plans for a new effort to tackle the global food crisis, though more details are needed to ensure its effectiveness and delivery. They highlighted the UN High-level meeting on the MDGs in September as an important opportunity to review progress and identify actions needed to overcome remaining challenges.

At a time when G8 credibility is at risk due to slow progress in delivering on commitments, there was a strong call for greater accountability in the G8 Communique. The G8 agreed to track progress against previous commitments in health, education, water and agriculture, as well as its compliance with anti-corruption measures.

Overall, the US, UK and Germany provided strong leadership in negotiations and have significantly increased their funding for Africa in recent years.

After the jump, the following brief overview of outcomes for Africa from the 2008 G8 Summit.

-Ben Hubbard

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Jubilee Act Passes Committee

The Jubilee Act passed the Senate Foreign Relations committee yesterday. Next it would have to be considered and passed by the full Senate before it could go to the President and be signed into law.

Jubilee USA Launches Petition for Haiti

The global food crisis has Haiti in its grip.

The lack of affordable food has caused riots and political turmoil. While some Haitians are reportedly eating dirt to quell their hunger, their government is forced to pay almost $1 million each week in debt service to the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, both wealthy banks that were supposedly established to fight poverty.

The finance ministers of the G8 countries — the world’s richest nations — meet on June 13 and 14 in Japan to discuss the food crisis. By cancelling debts they could help alleviate the suffering of Haiti and other affected countries.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. will be attending the G8 meeting. Please sign Jubilee USA’s petition to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. to urge him to support accelerated debt cancellation for Haiti and in the meantime an immediate moratorium on the country’s debt service payments at this meeting. Jubilee USA will deliver this petition before he leaves on Wednesday, June 11.

-Monet Cooper, Jubilee USA

Desmond Tutu: ‘Debt is Modern-Day Apartheid’

Be sure to check out the op-ed about debt, healthcare and the urgency of passing the Jubilee Act in the Senate written by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu in Wednesday’s Baltimore Sun. Writes Tutu:

Lesotho’s situation snows how debt and extreme poverty create a crisis for children…Lesotho has only six pediatricians looking after its 800,000 children. One-third of Lesotho’s children are not in school. Meanwhile, Lesotho’s debt repayments equal its entire education budget.

He continues:

As the Senate now considers the Jubilee Act, it can do it’s part to help ensure that Africans and Asians are able to sue their own resources for their own development.

Read the full op-ed, “Debt cancellation a victory for the world,” on The Balitmore Sun’s site.

-Monét Cooper, Jubilee USA

Jubilee in the House!

The Jubilee Act just passed the House 285-132.

The bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) in June 2007 and would push for an international agreement to write off United States’ loans to qualified countries and urge the U.S. to work with other rich nations to do the same.

The money poor countries would have had to pay to debt would be directed to infrastructure development, education and health care, among other improvements.

Next step - a Senate vote.

Call Your Rep! Watch the Jubilee Act Vote!

The House of Representatives Votes on the Jubilee Act Wednesday, April 16 at 10:45 a.m.

The Jubilee Act will be debated and voted on the House floor on Wednesday, April 16. Watch it live on C-SPAN as the vote happens.

Please call your representative via the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 today and ask him/her to vote “Yes”.

Use Jubilee’s quick email form to send a message to a friend, colleague or group and urge them to take action on the Jubilee Act!

-Monet Cooper, Jubilee USA

Debt Vote on Thursday. Jubilee!

It’s official, the Jubilee Act will be voted on in the House Financial Services Committee this coming Thursday, April 3 at 10 a.m. You can watch the debate and the vote here.

If your member of Congress is on the House Financial Services Committee, now would be a great time to give him/her a call and urge a yes vote on Thursday!

The committee vote is the only thing standing between the Jubilee Act & consideration by the full US House of Representatives!

We expect that after the committee vote the Jubilee Act will move fairly quickly. It will probably be considered by the full House of Representatives by Monday, April 14.

You can find a list of the members of the House Financial Services Committee here.

-Monet Cooper, Jubilee USA

Leap Into Action!

We’ve received a lot of calls and emails from Jubilee supporters who have called during our Leap Into Action Call-In Days their senators and representatives about the Jubilee Act (S. 2166 and H.R.2634), which will soon to be considered in the House and Senate.

The Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation will expand eligibility for 100 percent debt cancellation without harmful economic conditions to 67 impoverished countries in the Global South.

When you call your senators or representative, you’re calling on behalf of the millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Asia who suffer when debt repayment must be prioritized over health care, education and clean water.

Every day, Sub-Saharan Africa sends $100,000 back to America in debt payments. Imagine what could be done with that money if it were to stay in those countries.

The call you make today is a part of a national campaign to pass the Jubilee Act within the 55 legislative days Congress has this year. This is the last and final session of Congress before the elections with most of the legislative days being frontloaded prior to June.

This tight deadline makes it even more imperative for ONE members and others to call their members of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor this bill.

Get the Call Script here.

More Information About the Jubilee Act here.

-Monet Cooper, Jubilee USA

Asking Voinovich to “Measure Up!” on Debt

Today, as part of Jubilee’s “Measure Up” campaign, a group of global poverty advocates and debt campaigners met with Senator Voinovich’s District Representative in Columbus, Ohio. The purpose of the meeting was to ask the Senator to become a co-sponsor of the Jubilee Act (S 2166). Our group of 4 was made up of Katie Andrews, organizer for the ONE Campaign, Ginnie Vogts, an organizer for Results, Loretta Raiford local volunteer with ONE, and Brian Swarts, national organizer for Jubilee USA.

The group highlighted for Khisha Fallon, the District Representative, the importance of reducing global poverty and the effectiveness of debt cancellation. Katie spoke about debt is holding back a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa from reaching the Millennium Development Goals. Ginnie pointed out that reducing poverty is critical to increasing global security, as impoverished countries are more vulnerable to political instability and even terrorist activity. Loretta shared her experiences working in refugee camps in Uganda, and seeing the heart-breaking need there for increased investment in health care, education and clean water. Lastly, Brian emphasized the fact that it makes good economic sense to take pro-active steps to fight poverty in places like sub-Saharan Africa, where many countries are so poor that they cannot reduce poverty through economic growth alone - cooperation from other countries is essential.

While Senator Voinovich has not issued a statement on the Jubilee Act, Khisha has said that she will pass on our ideas to him. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Voinovich would be joining Ranking Member Richard Lugar (IN) and Senator Johnny Isakson (GA) in co-sponsoring the Jubilee Act.

-Brian Swarts, National Field Organizer, Jubilee USA