United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-05-15 monographic deposited born digital 13 p. GA 1.13:GAO-01-745T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-745T P0b002ee180381aec f:d01745t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-745T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-745T GAO-01-745T Economic growth Federal aid to foreign countries Foreign economic assistance International economic relations Foreign loans Developing countries Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative Testimony A01007 The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the International Monetary Fund's concessional (below-market terms) lending facility--the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility--are two multilateral programs intended to help spur economic growth and reduce poverty in low-income countries, most notably countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The HIPC Initiative represents a step forward in the international community's efforts to relieve poor countries of their heavy debt burdens. It does so by seeking to include all creditors and by providing significant debt relief to recipient countries. Unless strong, sustained economic growth is achieved, however the initiative will not likely provide recipient countries with a lasting exit from their debt problems. Furthermore, as long as the initiative links debt relief to poverty reduction strategies, the tension between quick debt relief and comprehensive country-owned strategies is likely to persist. These issues should not be seen, however, as a reason to abandon efforts to provide debt relief to eligible countries. Heavily indebted poor countries continue to carry unsustainable debt burdens that are unlikely to be lessened without debt relief, but participants and observers need to be more realistic about what the initiative may ultimately achieve. This testimony summarizes two GAO reports--NSIAD-00-161 and GAO-01-581. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-745T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-745T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-745T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-745T.pdf GAO-01-745T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-745T Testimony GAO-01-745T; Developing Countries: Challenges Confronting Debt Relief and IMF Lending to Poor Countries; Economic growth Federal aid to foreign countries Foreign economic assistance International economic relations Foreign loans Developing countries Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative