What is wrong with economic conditions linked to aid and debt relief?
In order to be eligible for debt cancellation or some loans, poor countries must be following policies set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Many of these are economic policy changes such as privatisation of basic services and cuts in social spending. Often these undermine democracy and damage living conditions for the poorest. The UK has promised not to attach economic policy conditions to aid it gives directly to poor countries, however aid and debt relief delivered by the World Bank and IMF – which the UK helps to fund – still has huge numbers of these damaging conditions attached.
