Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Editorials

Joining together to combat poverty

BMJ 2000; 320 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.320.7226.1 (Published 01 January 2000) Cite this as: BMJ 2000;320:1

Rapid Response:

Timely human action by concerned people of the rich donor countries can save millions

I am very happy that at least there is somebody that realised the
grvity of the satuation. The spiral of poverty for the poor dountry and the
poor masses go together. The debt trap woven by IMF, WORLD BANK, and the
Banking cartales of the rich countries works like this.

The ruiling elites
borrow money for a project wich is not sustainable in a country with
eighteenth century know how. The donors give huge loan on the promise that the
experts and the machines will come from the donor. The ruling elite accept
what ever terms are offered, they get the lion's share in the proceeds, this
illgotten money goes to their bank accounts in the rich countries, most of
the money is retrieved back by the donor in the form of salaries of their
experts and instruments sold. THE PROJECT USUALLY SINKS. The debt has to be
paid by poor of the country through heavy taxes and cuts in the health, education and social sectors. The rulers of that periods usually retire
to the rich countries.

I will sugest the following for us to discuss with the IMF, WORLD BANK and
rulers of the rich donors.

1]Please write off the present loans or at least the interest to all the
poor countries, and give a long grace period to pay.

2]Freeze the stolen money in your banks of the citizens or ex-citizens of the
poor countries, especially politicians and bureaucrats,and use the money and
the assets of these people to pay the debts.

3]Please stop forcing the GOVERNMENTS of these poor counties to further
cut the health , education and social services.

4]Please don't give further loans even on 1% rate. We can't pay even that, please dont increase the debt imposed on us by our corrupt rulers.

5]Please do not provide safe havens for the thieves of the poor countries.

Competing interests: No competing interests

05 January 2000
Mohammad Aziz Wazir
Associate Professor of Surgery ,
PGMI Lady reading hospital Peshawar,Pakistan