11 May 2005
WORLD DEBT DAY - MAY 16TH
World Debt Day commemorates the day in 1998 when 70,000 people formed a human chain around the G8 summit in Birmingham England to call for debt justice for poor countries.
Despite some progress in the granting of debt relief since then and continued promises of further relief, the world's richest nations have failed to reach agreement on the mechanism by which further relief is to be granted.
In the meantime an estimated 19,000 children die every day from their government's inability to provide basic services. At the same time these same poorer nations are repaying huge sums back to the world’s richest nations and financial institutions. For example, next year Indonesia will repay $9 billion in debt repayments to rich countries including $120 million to Australia. This is twice the total amount spent on health and education combined in a country still reeling from the devastating effects of the Boxing Day tsunami.
For more information about this issue and some actions you can take visit the Jubilee Australia website.
Despite some progress in the granting of debt relief since then and continued promises of further relief, the world's richest nations have failed to reach agreement on the mechanism by which further relief is to be granted.
In the meantime an estimated 19,000 children die every day from their government's inability to provide basic services. At the same time these same poorer nations are repaying huge sums back to the world’s richest nations and financial institutions. For example, next year Indonesia will repay $9 billion in debt repayments to rich countries including $120 million to Australia. This is twice the total amount spent on health and education combined in a country still reeling from the devastating effects of the Boxing Day tsunami.
For more information about this issue and some actions you can take visit the Jubilee Australia website.
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