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DATA BRIEFS:  (continued)

How little has changed

"…It is necessary to give some voice, however inadequate, to the children of the developing world who have no other say in international economic dealings but who are so profoundly and permanently affected by them….

"The fact that so much of today's staggering debt was irresponsibly lent and irresponsibly borrowed would matter less if the consequences of such folly were falling on its perpetrators. Yet now, when the party is over and the bills are coming in, it is the poor who are being asked to pay….

"And when the impact becomes visible in rising death rates among children, rising percentages of low-birthweight babies, falling figures for the average weight-for-height of the under-fives, and lower school enrolment ratios among 6- to 11-year-olds, then it is essential to strip away the niceties of economic parlance and say that what has happened is simply an outrage against a large section of humanity…. Allowing world economic problems to be taken out on the growing minds and bodies of young children is the antithesis of all civilized behaviour. Nothing can justify it. And it shames and diminishes us all."

These words are taken from UNICEF's The State of the World's Children 1989 report, but they could have been written yesterday. For years now, the consequences of the global debt crisis have fallen most heavily on the young, particularly on children in the 38 countries listed, which are poor, highly indebted and have been in desperate need of relief since the crisis began in 1982.

The Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative, or HIPC, was launched under the leadership of the World Bank and IMF at the end of 1996, with the goal of returning to solvency such severely impoverished countries with unsustainable debt burdens. Progress, however, has been slow and painful: So far, only two countries — Uganda and Bolivia — have received relief, and commitments for HIPC support have been made to only five additional countries.

As this publication goes to press, leaders of some of the wealthiest creditor countries are preparing to meet to discuss, among other issues, reforming and speeding the HIPC process. This is a hopeful sign. But proposals have been made before, and optimism is difficult to muster given the experience of the last 10 years, with outcomes so dwarfed by the overwhelming needs. And the costs to children, meanwhile, continue to mount.

HIPC Countries*

Angola Bolivia Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Central African Rep. Chad Congo Congo, Dem. Rep. Côte d'Ivoire	Equatorial Guinea Ethiopia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Honduras Kenya Lao PDR Liberia	Madagascar Mali Mauritania Mozambique Myanmar Nicaragua Niger Rwanda Sao Tome and   Principe	Sierra Leone Somalia Sudan Tanzania Togo Uganda Viet Nam Yemen Zambia
*The list of HIPC countries is evolving as countries' debt burdens are evaluated against three criteria. To qualify for assistance under the HIPC Initiative, a country must be poor, have an unsustainable debt (defined as more than 200-250% of the value of their annual exports with debt service greater than 20-25% of their annual income from exports) and have implemented reforms. Note: Initially, the HIPC list contained 41 countries that appeared to fit the criteria. Since the programme began in 1996, Benin, Nigeria and Senegal have been found not to meet the criteria. Other countries are expected to be dropped and more to be added during the review process.