Africa Action: Campaign to Cancel Africa's Debt

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Campaign to Stop Genocide in Darfur

Campaign to End HIV/AIDS in Africa

Campaign to Cancel Africa's Debt

Africa Action Student Network

Religious Action Network

Campaign to Cancel Africa's Debt

Africa's over $200 billion debt burden is the single biggest obstacle to the continent's development. Most of this debt is illegitimate, having been incurred by despotic and unrepresentative regimes. African countries spend almost $14 billion annually on debt service, diverting resources from HIV/AIDS programs, education and other important needs. The U.S. and other rich countries have resisted calls to cancel this debt, instead proposing partial solutions that are inadequate and impose harsh economic policies on indebted countries. Africa Action’s Campaign to Cancel Africa’s Debt mobilizes pressure on the U.S. government to push for 100% debt cancellation for all impoverished African countries without harmful conditions. more >

What's New

Dennis Brutus: �An ironclad sense of solidarity�
January 8, 2010
"Patrick Bond collates excerpts of testimonials about the late Dennis Brutus, �a poet whose work will be celebrated forever, and whose wisdom in so many campaigns for social justice will be sorely missed�, from institutions, individuals and the media..." Go >

U.S. Considering Debt Relief for Poor Countries
January 5, 2010
"Yahoo News: The article, written by journalist Brittany Schell, describes how the Jubilee Act, recently introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives, would expand debt relief for impoverished countries. Click here to find the article online..." Go >

Vulture funds are Legal but Not Ethical....
December 14, 2009
"In the last few years, many more people in the legal profession and wider society have become aware of vulture funds. The funds are set up specifically to buy old debt at huge discounts � not only corporate debt, but also sovereign debt. They are often hedge funds, set up solely to pursue a developing country debt. The debts can date back decades and are sometimes incurred by corrupt leaders..." Go >

Advocacy Groups Decry Profiteering by Vulture Funds in Liberia
December 2, 2009
"Urgent: A London court recently awarded two Vulture Funds a $20 million judgment against Liberia. This amount of money represents the country�s entire education budget and 150% of their spending on health in 2008..." Go >

[next 10]


	Sub-Saharan Africa receives $10 billion in aid but loses $14 billion in debt payments per year.
	In Burundi, elimination of education fees in 2005 allowed an additional 300,000 children to attend school.
	While more than 80 million Nigerians live on less than $1 per day, in 2005 Nigeria agreed to pay over $12 billion to the Paris Club of creditors in exchange for partial debt cancellation.
	In 2003, Zambia spent twice as much on debt repayments as on health care. But partial debt cancellation allowed the government to grant free basic healthcare to its population in 2006.


	“Must we starve our children to pay our debts?” *Julius Nyerere*, former president of Tanzania
	“The debt is a new form of slavery, as vicious as the slave trade.” *All Africa Conference of Churches*
	“Debt is tearing down schools, clinics and hospitals. The effects are no less devastating than war.” *Adebayo Adedeji*, African Center for Development Strategy, Nigeria


Click to enlarge