SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Anne Benson, 49, a market vendor in Monrovia, Liberia, one of the countries impacted both by the Ebola outbreak and by massive IMF and World Bank debt. (Photo: Morgana Wingard/ UNDP/flickr/cc)
Calls for IMF and World Bank to Cancel Debts of Ebola Ravaged Nations
The Global Alliance of Mayors and Leaders from Africa and of African Descent issues statement demanding relief
Nov 19, 2014
An alliance of African mayors is demanding that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank cancel debts owed by West African nations that are in the grips of an Ebola crisis.
The call was issued this week in a Communique entitled "The Accra Accord on Ebola," which emerged from a three-day conference of Global Alliance of Mayors and Leaders from Africa and of African Descent, according to Ghana Web. The gathering took place in Accra, Ghana and brought together participants from over 80 countries.
Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia--which are at the center of the Ebola crisis--together owe approximately $370 million to the IMF, according to Jubilee USA. Of this, $55 million is due in two years or less. Meanwhile, World Bank numbers from 2012 find that Guinea pays approximately $45 million more per year on debt than on public health.
Meanwhile, these loans have been given on the condition that these countries impose austere domestic programs, including cuts to public health spending.
The network Jubilee USA has been calling for debt relief of Ebola stricken countries, and earlier this month, had some success in pressing U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to take up their cause to the G20 meetings.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
An alliance of African mayors is demanding that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank cancel debts owed by West African nations that are in the grips of an Ebola crisis.
The call was issued this week in a Communique entitled "The Accra Accord on Ebola," which emerged from a three-day conference of Global Alliance of Mayors and Leaders from Africa and of African Descent, according to Ghana Web. The gathering took place in Accra, Ghana and brought together participants from over 80 countries.
Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia--which are at the center of the Ebola crisis--together owe approximately $370 million to the IMF, according to Jubilee USA. Of this, $55 million is due in two years or less. Meanwhile, World Bank numbers from 2012 find that Guinea pays approximately $45 million more per year on debt than on public health.
Meanwhile, these loans have been given on the condition that these countries impose austere domestic programs, including cuts to public health spending.
The network Jubilee USA has been calling for debt relief of Ebola stricken countries, and earlier this month, had some success in pressing U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to take up their cause to the G20 meetings.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
An alliance of African mayors is demanding that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank cancel debts owed by West African nations that are in the grips of an Ebola crisis.
The call was issued this week in a Communique entitled "The Accra Accord on Ebola," which emerged from a three-day conference of Global Alliance of Mayors and Leaders from Africa and of African Descent, according to Ghana Web. The gathering took place in Accra, Ghana and brought together participants from over 80 countries.
Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia--which are at the center of the Ebola crisis--together owe approximately $370 million to the IMF, according to Jubilee USA. Of this, $55 million is due in two years or less. Meanwhile, World Bank numbers from 2012 find that Guinea pays approximately $45 million more per year on debt than on public health.
Meanwhile, these loans have been given on the condition that these countries impose austere domestic programs, including cuts to public health spending.
The network Jubilee USA has been calling for debt relief of Ebola stricken countries, and earlier this month, had some success in pressing U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to take up their cause to the G20 meetings.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.