Critics of the Jubilee 2000 campaign opined that remission of international debt would give the green light for corrupt governments to fritter away the proceeds. This has not proved to be true. There is powerful evidence that debt cancellation is already directly helping the poor. In Uganda debt relief has helped double primary school enrolment. In Mozambique half a million children have been vaccinated against killer diseases. Extra schooling has been provided in Honduras and money saved from servicing debt has financed half of Guyana's national development plan.
We should not be complacent, however. Some 22 countries have had debts cancelled and a further 14 are in the pipeline, but this is well short of the 50 or so that Jubilee 2000 has been campaigning for. They include some of the world's worst-off countries including Bangladesh, the Philippines and Nigeria. Moreover, while debt relief has reduced repayments of the 22 countries by one third, these countries are still spending more on debt repayments than, for example, health.
Then it is clear that debt repayments by some countries are set to increase by the end of the decade through the combination of new loans and the end of concessional periods. Some observers have suggested that there may be a case for a new Jubilee 2010 campaign. But we need to get the issue fully in perspective. A recent World Bank document has warned that the current debt initiative is not a long-term solution to the world economic crisis. Countries with fragile economies will always be vulnerable to spiralling debt and their hopes lie not from piecemeal action but from sustained economic progress.
Christians should welcome the direct interventions in the debt campaign by organisations such as Medact, MedSIN and even the BMA. They have certainly succeeded in raising general consciousness on this issue. But we also need to be willing to take stock of lifestyle issues. Do we really need to invest all our financial surpluses for maximum return? Do we have to accept without question the general mores in Western society with its ever-present spur to live to ourselves rather than living simply (as the old saying goes) that others may simply live?
