São Paulo – This Thursday (20th), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that they will relieve the Comoro Islands from a US$ 176 million debt. The amount represents 59% of the country’s debt service in the coming 40 years. The relief has been granted because the Comoros Islands has achieved the completion point in a the line of credit for Highly Indebted poor Countries (HIPC).
The targets set for the Comoros included implementing strategies to fight poverty, maintaining economic stability, improving governance and public resource management, implementing energy and telecom reforms, improving debt management, and promoting a nationwide measles vaccination campaign reaching at least 90% of the children in the country.
In addition to the HIPC debt relief, Comoros now counts on another tool from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s division for projects in poor countries. It is the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI), will help the country reduce its debt even further and free up funds so Comoros can achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which aim to reduce poverty until 2015.
The head of the IMF mission to the Comoros, Mbuyamu Matungulu, said the country has seen “substantial gains” in economic stability in the past few years. According to him, economic activity displays a tendency to grow, and the country’s fiscal situation is stronger now. “Debt reduction under the HIPC and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiatives reinforces these achievements and uplifts the country’s growth and poverty reduction prospects. With continued close adherence to reforms and steady donor support, the improved outlook can translate into tangible gains in living standards for the poor,” he said.
Even though Comoros has met the targets set by the program and become eligible for further financial aid, the IMF and World Bank stated that the country remains vulnerable to eventual crises affecting its exports and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Comoros is the 35th country to receive loans and meet the targets of the HIPC program. The other benefited nations were Afghanistan, Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guiana, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Ruanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia. Chad is close to reaching the completion point. Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan are also in the program.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
