Free the slaves
BMJ 1999; 318 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.318.7198.1568 (Published 12 June 1999) Cite this as: BMJ 1999;318:1568
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While appraciating the feeling of Jubilee 2000's compain for the
releif
to the poor who have been made slaves to the IMF and World Bank,thanks
to the plunderors and looters of the third world nations. Instead of
calling for the debt relief, the best G8 countries can do rather should
do is to return the stolen wealth of these debt ridden countries. The
billion of dollors stollen by the corrupt politicians and beurocrats
have found their way in the banks of the affluent countries and it is
these countries who are giving protection and refuge to these
plunderors.It is high time for the public of G8 nations to ask their
respective governments to catctch the theives and return the stolen wealth
to the poor nations.
Dr.Sultan M.Qayum Khan
Pakistan Medical Association
NWFP,Peshawar.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Dear Sir,
It should be difficult for any doctor to ignore the recent article by Dr.
Abbasi on “Third World” debt. The state of healthcare available to
families in between half and two thirds of the world is unacceptable, and
the great differences in quality of healthcare between rich and poor
countries unethical(ref. 1). However, the experiences of our aid agency in
trying to develop hospital care for children in disadvantaged countries
leads us to be cautious about advocating simply a cancellation of debts.
We have witnessed that an input of monies alone to countries which are
poorly governed, and where corruption is a way of life, may fail to reach
the most vulnerable and needy within the community.
Our agency’s view is that all debt to poor and disadvantaged
countries should be cancelled but in a more sustainable way than by
releasing States from their repayments. Our view is that the monies
earmarked for debt repayment should be retrieved, but ploughed back fully
and immediately into the country’s healthcare and education systems. We
suggest that this is implemented through the appointment in each repaying
country of carefully chosen advocates for women and children. Ideally,
partners appointed from within the United Nations should support these
local country delegates. A committee formed between the UN partners and
delegates from the country repaying the debt should thereby ensure that
all the monies that have been repaid to rich countries are utilised for
healthcare and education.
Such a system would be more difficult to organise than a simple
cancellation of debt. Care would have to be taken to ensure that
existing levels of finance for healthcare and education remain in addition
to that resulting from debt repayment. The repayment of debts by the
“Third world” to rich countries who have prospered from earlier
exploitation clearly represents an evil. However, our response to this
should be “street wise”, and should ensure that the abolition of debt
results in maximum benefit to the most vulnerable members of disadvantaged
countries.
Yours sincerely,
David Southall, Professor of Paediatrics,
Honorary Director Child Advocacy International
1 Sogan D, Bridel J, Arzomund M, Shepherd C, Southall D.
21st Century Health Care for Children in Afghanistan
Pediatrics.1998:102;1193-1198
Competing interests: No competing interests
EDITOR-Kamran Abbasi, in the editorial of 12 June, sets out the bare
facts which spell slavery to debt for millions in poor countries. Who can
fail to be moved by such obvious injustice? Health is always the looser
when cash must be found to meet debt demands. What is the point of
refining the messages from the WHO, the WMA, Safe Motherhood Initiatives,
Roll Back Malaria, AIDS strategies and all our other fine plans while the
countries most in need are too poor to begin to plan health care
strategically or effectively?
As a member, I am proud that the BMA has lead the health care sector
in this country by joining the Jubilee 2000 Coalition. However, much more
can be done using our influence and our international networks. Debt
relief for poor countries should be a demand from all health professionals
speaking with one voice, whether doctors, nurses, physiotherapists,
pharmacists, etc. We would be strengthened by this multidisciplinary
approach, as we would be by international collaboration with bodies such
as the World Medical Association. Our Royal Colleges too have close
overseas contacts and will know first hand the destruction that debt can
wreak on the best laid health care plans.
But health care professionals need not limit themselves to making
demands, they are in pole position for contributing to the solutions.
There has been much concern about whether countries given debt relief will
use the new money to improve services for those most in need, or whether
it will be siphoned off in a web of corruption. Given that most would wish
to see health as a main beneficiary of new money, who better to monitor
that the resources are indeed improving than the health care providers? If
they could somehow be involved in monitoring the use of money released
through debt cancellation, it might reassure the sceptics that money saved
through debt relief was being invested prudently to benefit the poor.
The meeting of the G8 nations in Cologne will not provide all that is
needed to free the slaves. The BMA has likewise not done all it could. I
hope that a good start will mature into a broader involvement.
Petra Clarke
Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
London N22
Competing interests: No competing interests
Whilst I fully support the sentiment behind debt relief for
impoverished countries I remain unconvinced that cancelling the debt will
make much difference. Living in Zimbabwe for most of my life I see at
first hand the problems of impoverishment and the effects of the collpase
of a once good health service. In Zimbabwe's case this has been brought
about entirely by bad governance and escalating corruption in virtually
all walks of life. Cancel the debt and new funds will be released to be
plundered.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Re: Free the slaves
Dear Editors,
There exist many more slaves today than 150 years ago!
References
http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/
http://www.antislavery.org/english/slavery_today/what_is_modern_slavery....
http://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_kristine_glimpses_of_modern_day_slavery.html
http://www.state.gov/j/tip/what/
http://allianceagainstmodernslavery.org/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/world/slavery/default.stm
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/slaverya21stcenturyevil/
http://www.economist.com/blogs/feastandfamine/2012/12/qa-siddharth-kara
http://www.freedomshabbat.org/downloads/Modern-Slavery-FMC.pdf
http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/
https://www.freetheslaves.net/SSLPage.aspx?pid=375
http://abolitionmedia.org/about-us/modern-slavery-statistics
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/dialogue/the-slave-route/mod...
http://www.verite.org/news/marc-gunther/modern-day-slavery-alive-and-well
http://www.shrm.org/publications/hrmagazine/editorialcontent/2012/pages/...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelsey-timmerman/cardboard-hearts-full-of-...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/free-the-slaves/memo-to-a-dead-president_b...
Competing interests: No competing interests