• Home
  • About us
    • Our Vision & Values
    • The Jubilee Scotland Team
    • Board Members
    • Jobs and volunteering
    • Annual reports
    • Contact
  • The Issue
    • History of Debt
    • Campaigning for cancellation
    • Guide to debt jargon
    • Country case studies
  • Campaigns
    • Campaign successes
    • Rethinking Private Financing in Scotland
    • Open the books on PFI!
    • Defuse the debt crisis
    • Debt Cancellation for Nepal
    • Build a Movement
  • Get involved
    • Sign the debt justice pledge
    • Donate
    • Events
    • Become a member
    • Resources
      • Order form
    • Find campaign groups
  • Articles & Blogs
You are here: Home / The Issue / Assessing HIPC and MDRI

Assessing HIPC and MDRI

The cancellation of billions of dollars of poor country debt has freed up a large amount of finance for a range of poverty reducing initiatives. The IMF boast that the boost in social spending is a result of cancellation, with the average spending on social services now an average five times more than the amount spent on debt service. The other benefits they emphasise are a reduction in debt service and an improvement of debt management. However, many of the countries who have completed HIPC and received full cancellation have quickly accumulated high debt burdens once more.

Whilst debt has been reduced, the initiatives are only available to those with specific eligibility criteria. Looking at export earnings and government revenue alone is supposed to provide enough information to assess the sustainability of debt, however this does not consider demands on government funds, the conditions within the countries or the way the loans were spent originally. Through ignoring odious debt, the creditors fail to take responsibility for loans which were irresponsibly extended. Additionally, the terms and conditions attached to cancellation often have harmful impacts and are decided by the creditor countries without any say from the indebted country’s themselves. Overall, HIPC and MDRI have had some positive outcomes but have not been sufficient for shaping a positive future, or for achieving debt justice. Now, as the initiatives draw to a close and the shortfalls become clearer, action for debt justice is vital.

Jubilee Scotland are campaigning for Scotland to become a central part of overcoming some of these challenges as an arbritrator of unfair and unpayable debt. Join our campaign and help us to Defuse the Debt Crisis. 

Download our briefing ‘Debt: A tale of two cities’ to see a comparison of debt relief in Malawi and Bangladesh.

Spread the word...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterEmail this to someone

The Issue

  • History of Debt
  • Campaigning for cancellation
  • Guide to debt jargon
  • Country case studies

News

Internship Opportunity, Autumn 2021

Jubilee Scotland has an exciting internship for a talented student to join us for the Autumn semester of 2021. This is a placement opportunity for students who undertake work experiences as part of their MSc degree.  About the internship  At Jubilee Scotland you will take part in the preparations for the UN Climate Summit in […]

Tweets by jubileescotland

Get in touch

Jubilee Scotland is an independent coalition of organisations and local groups across Scotland who campaign for cancellation of the unjust and unpayable debts which are ruining the world’s poorest countries.

JUBILEE SCOTLAND
41 GEORGE IV BRIDGE
EDINBURGH
SCOTLAND
EH1 1EL

T: 0131 225 4321
E: mail@jubileescotland.org.uk

  • Accessibility
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy and Cookies

Scottish Charity Number: SC031827 Company Number: SC220549

Copyright © 2021 Jubilee Scotland · Site built by graphics.coop · Powered by WordPress