G8 One Year On - Debt Cancellation Helps in Zambia

One year ago Elinata Kasanga, a subsistence farmer in Zambia spoke to Gordon Brown around the time of the G8 Gleneagles summit. One year on she has spoken to the BBC to tell of the difference that the cancellation of Zambia’s debt has made to her life.

|TOP|However she did say that what has been done is only the beginning and much more needs to be done.

Elinata is a mother of six and spoke via videolink to Gordon Brown on the eve of the G8 summit. She spoke of her struggles and difficulties in taking care of three of the 18 AIDS orphans in her village.

Elinata with her six own children as well, was in need of the services of a medical clinic. Now these are free thanks to the cancellation of most of Zambia’s debt by the IMF and the G8 countries.

She spoke to the BBC World Service in an interview broadcast at 8:40am on 6th July on the programme Business Daily. In it she spoke of how she no longer had to pay user fees at the clinic.

Her husband, children and grandchildren have all been sick over the past year but have now received free treatment and medication from their clinic. According to the UN the life expectancy of Zambian’s is 38 and 37 for men and women respectively.

It is hoped that the provision of free health care should raise this figure significantly.

Elinata also spoke of how much more there was to do in her country. When asked what message she would give to Gordon Brown one year on she replied:

|AD|"People are very hungry and he must tackle the issue of food insecurity. Because of the climate changes even our efforts to till the land are really in vain at the end of the day. Secondly I still have to pay school fees. One of the children has completed Grade 12 but I don't have the money to take the child to college. Those are some of the challenges I am still facing."

The Senior Trade Policy Advisor of Tearfund, Mari Griffith said: "Debt cancellation has clearly had a positive impact on daily life for Elinata and many other Zambians. However, rich countries need to go much further. Until trade rules are reformed and the causes and effects of climate change are tackled, poor countries such as Zambia will remain trapped in poverty."

Elinata lives 300km east of the Zambian capital Lusaka. Her village of Balakasau is situated on a plateau and contains 30 people, 18 of which are AIDS orphans. The Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, a partner of Tearfund carries out relief and development work in the village.

The video link last year was arranged by Tearfund. Gordon Brown said that governments had to take action at “Gleneagles and beyond” in order to end the scourge of poverty.

Last years videolink conversation was not the first time Brown and Elinata had spoken. Seven years ago they spoke via satellite on the eve of the G8 summit in Cologne.

Brown has said that he hoped to meet Elinata on one of his visits to Africa, he concluded the conversation by saying to her: "You are trying very hard against the difficulties you face. We are proud of what you achieve and we want to do more. My belief is that every child should have free education and that you must have health systems that provide healthcare for families. I hope we will have progress not just over the next few weeks but over the next few years."