Debt and Aid in Ethiopia and Brazil Population = 73, 053, 286 Brazil Population = 186,112,794

Debt in Brazil A 2004 estimate shows that Brazil’s external debt amounts to $219,800,000,000 Brazil has low unemployment rates, a fairly poor economy and Brazil’s currency is low against the US dollar, all these factors have helped to create debt in Brazil Approximately 20% of Brazil’s debt is international, of which half is owed to international financial institutions.

Who Gives Brazil Financial Aid? The International Monetary Funds (IMF) contribution totals to approximately $18billion Multilateral Development Banks such as The World Bank and Inter-American contributions provide assistance to Brazil to support improved social safety nets and banking reform amongst other things, its total contribution amounts to approximately £8.2billion Bilateral financing is provided in Brazil by countries such as UK, US, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Canada and Japan and the total amount is approximately $14.5billion.

Aid in Brazil The World Bank provides much assistance for Brazil, working with Brazil’s leader the World Bank has supported a strategy aimed at providing economic stability and increasing government efficiency and improving living conditions. The pillars of the strategy are; investing in people (promotion of stable employment and better education). Growing through productivity and stabilizing the economy (legislating the Central Bank’s independence, thereby shielding it from direct political pressure, and channelling more of Brazil’s public debt). Delivering government services to all (The World Bank has approved a $505million loan aimed at supporting an improvement in the quality and reach of public services for5 the most vulnerable populations. And finally by managing the natural inheritance.

Debt in Ethiopia An estimate shows that Ethiopia’s external debt amounts to $2,900,000,000. Total debt service relief under the enhanced HIPC (heavily indebted poor countries) Initiative from all of Ethiopia’s amounts to approximately US $3.3billion in nominal terms. Ethiopia joined the World Bank Group in 1945 and so far the World Bank has given Ethiopia $1.8billion. In October Ethiopia’s main creditor countries have decided to cancel another US $758million of outstanding debts. Ethiopia may be in debt as the economic growth has been very unstable during the last years, and the severe drought in 2002 had caused the GDP to decline in the 2002/2003 fiscal year. Ethiopia is one of the 18 countries eligible to benefit from the G-8 proposal to cancel 100percent of debt owed to the IDA, the IMF and the AfDB.

Who gives Ethiopia Aid? The World Bank has provided lending for over 90 projects in Ethiopia that have focused on HIV/AIDS, post-war emergency recovery and rehabilitation, assistance with the demobilisation and reintegration of soldiers, women’s development, capacity building for decentralized service delivery and food security. NGO’s such as CAFOD which is a religious group give aid to Ethiopia. In year 2000 the international community signed up to a series of promises called the Millennium Development Goals aimed at halving poverty in developing countries by 2015.