Culture
Third World Debt
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By Martin Leatherman & Josh Wilson, Newsdesk.org
On July 2 the world’s eight richest nations are expected to cancel $40 billion in debt owed by 18 of the world’s poorest nations. But critics from all corners claim this is a partial solution at best. The G8, which meets next week in Glasgow, will provide 100 percent relief from International Monetary Fund, World Bank and African Development Bank loans through the IMF’s Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Any money saved from debt relief is required to go to infrastructure, health care and education. Zambia, a nation of ten million people, almost one million of whom are said to have HIV, plans to use the extra funding to distribute free AIDS drugs, and to fight malaria.