Response to Save the Children 'Children Can't Wait' campaign on debt relief and aid for Liberia

March 2007

Thank you for your email of 8 February addressed to Gordon Brown and me about Liberia. I am replying on behalf of us both.

I saw for myself the extreme poverty being faced by the great majority of the population during my visit to Liberia last July. I can assure you that the UK is committed to the full implementation and financing of the HIPC Debt Relief Initiative for all heavily indebted poor countries, including Liberia. We will support Liberia receiving 100% debt cancellation as soon as possible. We are also increasing our aid programme to Liberia, now running at some £10m a year, and we have established and filled a new post of DFID Representative to Liberia.

Liberia’s arrears to the main international financial institutions have to be cleared before it can receive debt relief under HIPC, but Liberia will not be expected to clear the arrears itself. In the run-up to and since the Liberia Partners’ Forum in Washington in February, the UK has taken an active role in the international discussions aimed at clearing Liberia's arrears to the main multilateral agencies - the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB). During the Washington meeting, we announced our contribution to the arrears clearance operation at the AfDB. The UK will pay 10% of the donors’ share of the costs of that operation. We are in discussion with other donors and the World Bank and IMF on options for arrears clearance there.

As part of our increased commitment to Liberia, we are giving priority to the health sector. This includes increased support to international NGOs working in the sector to enable them to maintain their critical role in the provision of free health services and, particularly, to help them fill the gap that will be left by a number of humanitarian agencies that are proposing to wind up their operations. We are also trying to get a new multi-donor pooled fund for the health sector set up. The objective of this is to help the Ministry of Health start taking responsibility for the delivery and strengthening of health services across the country.

I hope this is helpful.

Hilary Benn
Secretary of State
Department for International Development

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