The Debt Police
In September 2000, Uganda became the first country to receive debt cancellation under a new scheme - the 'Heavily Indebted Poor Countries' (HIPC) debt relief scheme agreed at the G7 Summit in Cologne more than a year ago. But in a country where corruption is commonplace, is this relief (Uganda's been let off 60 per cent of the 120 million dollars it pays to service its foreign debt every year) really going to help the poor? This week Life goes to rural Uganda with the Uganda Debt Network, an NGO working to ensure that this aid reaches the poor and improves their lives.