Abstract

PIP: Time is running out. Major contributors to declines in the health of Brazilian children, particularly street children, are the international debt crisis, the reverse flow of capital from the South to the North, and economic adjustment policies. There are medical consequences and an ecological debt. There is a question about the merits of having the poor pay for the folly of bad, past government decisions. All the major charities campaigned against repayment of debt. Banks are only exposed to 3% of their total assets in Third World debt, and are receiving tax relief for non repayment. Austerity programs have meant cuts in health and education, and diversion of food, wages, and welfare to producing exports in order to repay the debt. The message is earn more and spend less. The poor are hit the hardest, particularly by rising food prices. Diseases which were though to be eradicated are coming back. After decades of economic advances, countries are slipping back into mass poverty. Cuts in food subsidies or health care and family planning affect women and overpopulation. Land is being usurped from peasant farmers and tropical forests destroyed; urbanization has led to abandonment of 8 million children on the streets. The 1989 Brady plan suggests trading commercial debt for lower priced bonds which could be purchased by big business or even by the country itself. The deals tend to be complex. So far only 6 countries have benefited. Another proposal is English Prime Minister John Major's Trinidad Terms of September 1990, which is directed to low income country debtors. In December 1991 the UK cancelled 50% of the debt to the poorest countries over the next 3 years. The US and Australia have set up rescheduling agreements. World Bank debt is still in question. Commercial banks should also make an offer of relief. It is suggested that doctors unite in an organization called Physicians Against International Debt-PAID to lobby banks, governments, and the international community to make human development a priority and reduce debt.