Dear

The Religious Debt Coalition represents thousands of members of religious congregations, working in almost every country of the world, from the richest to the poorest. I/we write to express our dismay at the crippling world debt of the poorest nations.

In the name of justice, the debt of the world’s poorest countries should be cancelled. We will not give up this cause until it happens!

You heard from us in Cologne!

You heard from us in Okinawa!

You heard from us in Genoa!

You heard from us again in Canada!

And now, as you approach your meeting in Evian, France you hear from us again!

Our message is the same: DROP the DEBT!

We are aware that where debt relief has occurred it has made a significant difference. The international campaigns for debt cancellation have had an impact. They have been able to leverage about $35 billion in debt reduction. This means:

In Uganda school enrollment has tripled
In Mozambique about half a million children have been vaccinated against deadly and preventable diseases
In Honduras, children have 3 extra years of free primary education

That is good news! But the bad news is:

Chad is still paying as much in debt service as it is spending on health. 80% of the population is estimated to be living below the international poverty line of $1.per day.
Ghana spends about 4 times on debt service than on health care
At the Cologne G7 Summit in 1999, $110 billion was promised in debt cancellation, 4 years later only about 35% has been cancelled.

Debt cancellation will not end poverty in our world but we believe that it is a necessary platform from which poor countries will be able to develop their own economic, education and health care systems.

We also believe that it will help in achieving the United Nations Millennium Goals.

Therefore: We urge you to DROP THE DEBT!

Name: ……………………………………………….

Address: ……………………………………………….

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