Debt Relief in Third World Countries

The concern of debt relief is mainly seen in that of the ‘Third World Debt’ an explosion of which started during the Latin American debt crisis in Mexico in the year 1982.  

In Third World countries like that of Zambia, Niger and Nicaragua, the Government spends much more on debt service payments rather than that of domains of education and health. It has also been recorded that the nation called Tanzania spends four times more on debt relief than on educational measures.

These are just examples of few nations where Governments are cutting down provisions of basic necessities in order to clear off their debts.  

Debt relief has become an absolutely necessity for Third World countries.

The movement which supports the debt relief in these countries is known as Jubilee 2000. The movement was in fact initiated by that of the Christians according to whose belief it was thought that the two thousandth anniversary year of that of the coming of the Almighty Jesus Christ is considered to be a Jubilee year.

According the Holy Scripture, Bible, it is believed that the Jubilee year as instructed by the Lord was a year to get rid of all the debts.  

It is also believed globally that debt relief would give the third world countries a fresh lease of life. It would also help them to improve their stability and they would be able to serve people in a much better manner.

All the supporters of the Jubilee movement are either Catholic or Protestant and some of them even belong to the religious groups of the Jewish community. According to them the ultimate thing to do is forgiveness of debt.  

However debt relief in Third World countries has always been a much debatable issue and it has always been an issue of concern whether the underdeveloped nations would be accountable for debt or not. It is also a matter of fact that there is less chance now to write off the debts of the Third World war countries.

There are also many sources which are very much inclined over questioning on this current practice. Some economists also hold the opinion that forgiveness of the debt would also mean that the countries would again borrow more than they can afford and that would not in any way prevent the recurrence of the same problem.  

However the impact of debt relief has taken serious turns in some nations and there are some impoverished nations which have also received full or partial cancellation of loans from that of the foreign Governments and also that of international financial institutions which include the IMF and the World Bank.

For nations like United States, debt relief is considered to be a major investment and it is often believed that without the American leadership, debt relief of any sort would not exist.