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afrol.com, 16 July - Oxfam yesterday said the richest countries in the world are failing to live up to heir promise to resolve the Third World debt crisis made at last year's G8 meeting in Cologne. Only $12 billion worth of debt has been irrevocably cancelled out of the $100 billion promised nine months ago. G7 leaders also said that 25 poor countries would receive enhanced debt relief this year. So far only eight countries have. There are some 36 poor countries eligible for debt relief. "The Cologne debt plan has run into the sand. One year on little progress has been made. It has been lost in IMF and World Bank red tape, political wrangles in the US Congress and general miserliness and lack of vision within the G7. In the case of hurricane-bashed Honduras debt relief has been tied up because of IMF insistence upon the privatisation of the electricity sector. Without renewed leadership from the G7 leaders the promises made in Cologne will be a cruel hoax. It remains an international scandal that poor countries are still paying the rich world more on debt than they spend on the health and education of their children," said Tony Burdon, Oxfam's Policy Adviser. The consequences of failure to move forward on debt can be measured in children's lives. Many of the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) have some of the worst child death rates. The United Nations' Children's Fund estimate that by 2015 there will be an extra 2 million unnecessary child deaths in HIPCs because progress to reduce child death rates is way off track. To break the logjam Oxfam proposes that immediate debt relief be granted to those countries willing to put the money into a transparent 'poverty fund', similar to the way Uganda has accounted for its debt relief. The 'poverty fund' would put savings into vital social spending such as basic health and education. Any countries progressing towards economic stability should be given immediate debt relief. The IMF and World Bank should not continue to act as a break on progress due to excessive demands for wide ranging economic reform before debt relief can be granted. Oxfam is also calling for the IMF and the World Bank to review urgently whether more debt saddled countries, such as Nigeria and Haiti, should be included in the debt relief scheme. More information on debt relief can be obtained on Oxfam's website.
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