Third World Debt and Disaster Recovery

Debt Relief and The Floods of Mozambique and Madagascar

The worst floods for 50 years and a devastating cyclone in the first three weeks of February, 2000 in Mozambique has been met with a slow response by the international community to provide much needed assistance and aid. As many as 300,000 were feared to have lost everything, while there were fears of more floods².

The floods are also thought to have moved landmines from previously known minefield areas to areas that have already been cleared. Mozambique is one of the world's most heavily mined countries. To find out more about the terrible effects of landmines see this site's page on landmines³.

As with the effects from Hurricane Mitch, debt burdens once again have come to the fore. Even Mozambique's government has been urging a cancellation⁴ of the country's debts to help use those saved resources for rebuilding the destroyed infrastructure.

For more information, you can start at the coverage from Guardian⁵.

The UN also estimates that 600,000 people have been affected in Madagascar⁶, the world's fourth largest island. That is twice as many in Mozambique. Two cyclones tore through the island. One of them made its way on to Mozambique resulting in the damage that filled headlines. However, a second cyclone that hit Madagascar didn't get to Mozambique.

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Debt Relief and Hurricane Mitch

The devastation in Central America caused by one of the deadliest storms⁷ in over 200 years, Hurricane Mitch⁸, November 1998, has been terrible. A UN report estimates that the destruction caused will set back development in this region by 20 years. The cost of rebuilding after Hurricane Mitch has highlighted the problems⁹ of debt repayment¹⁰ and debt relief¹¹ that these countries are still facing (a repayment of about $200 million a day from Honduras and Nicaragua¹², two of the worst hit areas).

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