The developing world still needs our voice to bring an end to debt.

Over 1,000 debt campaigners were in Birmingham on Sunday 18 May to mark ten years since the human chain at the G8 summit in 1998.

Maria Beaumont, Elizabeth Wilmot and I travelled by coach with over 60 local supporters and Vince Cable MP saw us off at 8.15am. In Birmingham we joined campaigners from across the country to make fresh calls on world leaders to drop the remaining 80% of unpayable poor country debt.

Ten years ago, we were told that dropping the debt was impossible. People would not understand the concept; governments would not entertain the idea. Now campaigners have forced it on to the agenda and the UK has been at the forefront. $88 billion of debt has been cancelled.

As a result teacher numbers in Tanzania have doubled. Primary school fees have been abolished in Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and in rural areas of Benin. Almost one million children have been vaccinated against disease in Mozambique. Healthcare clinics have abolished user fees in rural areas of Zambia. And much more besides. (Source: Unfinished Business, Jubilee Debt Campaign, 2008)

Gordon Brown is keen to praise the part played by churches and faith communities in the campaign for debt cancellation. In an interview for the Church Times he said: ‘I do applaud the way churches have made this a test of being a good neighbour. People are helping people they will never know or meet; these people ought to recognise they have helped to transform opportunities for people all around the world.’

But speakers in Birmingham also made clear that this was a new beginning rather than an end to debt campaigning. Speakers from Jamaica, Zambia and South Africa explained that debt was re-accumulating in some countries, and we needed to work towards a permanent solution to the debt crisis. Just $400 million of debt keeps some of the poorest countries in the world - countries like Haiti and Bangladesh - in poverty. Other than Norway, Northern governments have ignored the ‘odious debts’ which were lent irresponsibly and did nothing to benefit the people of the recipient countries.

The keynote speaker was the recently retired Archbishop of Cape Town, the Rt Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane. He said the Jubilee Debt Campaign must continue to press for more to be done. In particular, there must be easier access to such schemes for all who need them, and an overall scaling up of resources to effect relief.

Money freed by relief must be channelled towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals - and there must be effective monitoring to ensure that this is really happening.

Ndungane’s personal contribution was the launch of the African Monitor initiative two years ago - an independent, continent-wide organisation to monitor development-funding commitments and how they are delivered to the grass roots. African countries must walk the walk.

He said that following the example of campaigns such as Jubilee 2000, African civil society is now much more active in holding our governments to account. What better validation could one ask for in our continuing efforts for a lasting solution to the debt crisis - such an important component of the global effort to Make Poverty History?

Source: Ann Peterken, The Spire Magazine - 2008 July