Debt relief is unlikely to reduce poverty. This is largely because in poorer nations there are several other causes of poverty that debt relief would not solve. Furthermore, aid would not make much difference as it is possible that corrupt leaders and poor governments in general do not use the available money sensibly. However, debt relief would still have a positive impact and, with good governance, would help countries spend more and improve vital services such as healthcare and education. This, in turn, will contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Debt relief would also help break the debt cycle that has impeded economic growth in poorer nations. In 1996, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund signed an agreement. Under this agreement, which became known as the HIPC initiative, 40 of the world's poorest nations would have the opportunity to be eligible for debt relief. The HIPC initiative emphasized that the agreement was aimed exclusively at highly indebted poor countries, most of which were from sub-Saharan Africa. The banks were, in part, inspired by the non-governmental organization Jubilee 2000, which campaigned for wealthy donor countries to cancel third world debt by 2000. In 2005 the international community reviewed the progress of development programs and she was very satisfied. numerous international agendas, in particular the G8 summit, the United Nations summit in New York and the World Trade Organization meeting. The result has been to accelerate the HIPC initiative and offer full debt relief, however, in many cases, this has yet to materialise. However, some countries such as Mali are already benefiting from debt relief. The main reason why debt relief would not reduce poverty... middle of paper... also helps countries start working towards the Millennium Development Goals as money is freed up to, e.g. health care, improve maternal health, reduce poverty and ensure environmental development, all of which would reduce poverty. Overall, the main reason why debt relief would not significantly reduce poverty is that it does not help solve other problems that poor countries face, such as conflict and landlessness. Furthermore, debt relief will be ineffective as long as poor and corrupt governments are still in place. However, if debt relief was combined with other measures to address other problems, then it would help reduce poverty as it breaks the cycle of debt that impedes growth and also allows spending on crucial services such as education needed to achieve growth. long-term sustainable growth. as well as the Millennium Development Goals.