Crisis Of Legitimacy Plagues IMF And World Bank Amidst Escalating Demand For Debt Cancellation At Annual Meetings

Main Category: Aid / Disasters
Also Included In: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 19 Oct 2007 - 14:00 PDT

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Africa Action called on the U.S. Executive Directors to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to take decisive action on the critical issue of debt cancellation at the Annual Meetings this weekend. A progress report will be given at the meetings on the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). In addition to climate change and the International Development Association's (IDA) 15th round of replenishment funding, Africa Action anticipates that much attention will be given to the agendas of the two new leaders of the institutions. Incoming IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Khan has already emphasized institutional reform as a priority, and freshly appointed World Bank President Robert Zoellick recently described the institution as a "brain trust" and emphasized the connection between aid and trade.

Marie Clarke Brill, Interim Executive Director of Africa Action, said today, "It has become increasingly clear that the IMF and World Bank suffer from a crisis of legitimacy. The institutions must take immediate action to provide complete debt cancellation without harmful conditions, starting with Liberia this weekend. Without addressing illegitimate debt, the institutions will be revealed for what they are - not the 'brain trust' of global development but a Bank and a Fund that prioritize payment from the poorest."

The IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings come at the end of a Global Week of Action on Debt and IFIs (October 14 - 21, 2007). Organizations around the world are taking action calling for debt cancellation, including over 60 organizations in 21 countries in Africa. The week began with actions in Tanzania honoring Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere (1922-1999) who led Tanzania to independence in 1961 and was a critic of IMF and World Bank policy. Nyerere advocated for debt repudiation, saying, "Must we starve our children to pay our debts?"

"The impressive number of organizations around the world, particularly in Africa, that are engaging in the Global Week of Action indicates the vibrancy of the movement for debt cancellation and economic liberation. It is long past time for wealthy nations and institutions, including the IMF and the World Bank, to provide complete debt cancellation without harmful conditions. Without debt cancellation, African nations will continue to struggle for economic sovereignty while siphoning resources desperately needed to fight HIV/AIDS to pay off illegitimate debts," said Marie Clarke Brill.

In the U.S., Africa Action engaged as a member organization of the Jubilee USA Network, joining Members of Congress and religious leaders to break a 40-day rolling fast and supporting the Jubilee Act (H.R.2634 and S.2166). The Jubilee Act provides debt cancellation for 67 countries, many in Africa.

Africa Action recently collected 125 organizational signatures on a civil society letter to the new IMF Managing Director outlining the necessary actions to deal with key institutional obstacles to addressing poverty in Africa. You can access this letter here. The National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA) is in strong opposition to the Portland School Committee's decision to prescribe birth control pills to students at Maine's King Middle School.

"We realize that the Committee responded to a problem," said Valerie Huber, Executive Director, NAEA, "but we do not agree that putting sixth graders on the Pill should be the final solution."

"What the Portland School Committee should consider are ways to teach students who are not learning in their homes the healthiest ways to build relationships, and set goals and boundaries for themselves. Abstinence Education provides these kinds of pro-active methods, along with information on contraception and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), but always in the context that abstinence is the healthiest option."

"Whenever an 11-year old is having sex, there is a problem much deeper than whether or not she will become pregnant" explained Huber, "because a child that young who has the opportunity to have sex - let alone feels she is mature enough to deal with the physical and emotional effects of intercourse - is, in most cases, seeking intimacy and approval because it is void on all other levels in her life."

About NAEA

The National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA) is comprised of leading abstinence educators and supporters who represent 1.5 million children across the U.S.

http://www.abstinenceassociation.org