Facts About Third World Debt

Africa spends four times as much money repaying interest on its loans as on health care.

Africa spends four times as much money repaying interest on its loans as on health care.

For every £1 given in aid by rich countries, poor countries pay back nearly £4 in debt repayments.

Over 500,000 children die each year because of cutbacks to health services.

Zambia was once one of the richest countries in Africa. Now its debt is equivalent to £565 per citizen, more than three times the average annual salary.

It would cost creditors £4.5 billion to cancel the unpayable debt of the 20 most affected countries, less than the cost of one Stealth bomber.

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