Haiti's debt burden- the real story

Although the G7 nations have written off Haiti's debt, the country is facing increased levels of debt as creditors offer new loans to help the country tackle its dramatic social and economic problems. This short analysis seeks to clarify what debt relief Haiti’s creditors have committed to, how large Haiti’s debt will be after full delivery of this debt relief (debt stock) and what this means in terms of how much it will pay creditors in the future (debt service).

The conclusion is that debt relief is necessary and urgent, but cancelling only existing debt will do limited good since new debts are on the horizon. Haiti faces, like many low and middle income countries, a deadlock situation of debt dependency combined with debt intolerance, a problem to which the current international system has no clear solution.

(adapted from author)