Debt relief will probably not reduce poverty. This is largely because there are various other causes of poverty in poorer countries that debt relief would not solve. Furthermore, the relief would not make much difference as corrupt leaders and poor governments in general may not use the available money wisely. However, debt relief would still have a positive impact: in cases of good governance, it helps countries spend more and improve vital services such as health and education. This in turn will contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Debt relief would also help break the debt cycle that has prevented economic growth in poorer countries. In 1996, an agreement was reached between the World Bank and the IMF. Under the deal, known as the HIPC initiative, 40 of the world's poorest countries would have the opportunity to become eligible for debt relief. The HIPC initiative emphasized that the agreement exclusively targeted heavily indebted poor countries, the majority of which were from sub-Saharan Africa. The banks were partly inspired by the non-governmental organization Jubilee 2000 which campaigned for rich donor countries to erase Third World debt by the year 2000. In 2005, the international community reviewed the progress of the programs development and was very attentive. many international agendas, including the G8 summit, the UN summit in New York and the World Trade Organization meeting. The result was to accelerate the HIPC initiative and propose full debt cancellation, but in many cases this has not yet materialized. However, some countries like Mali are already benefiting from debt relief. The main reason debt relief would not reduce poverty...... middle of document ...... would also help countries start working towards the Millennium Development Goals. because money is freed up to, for example, improve health care, improve maternal health, reduce poverty and ensure environmental development, which would reduce poverty. Overall, the main reason why debt relief would not significantly reduce poverty is that it does not help solve other problems poor countries face, such as conflict and landlockedness. . Furthermore, debt relief will be ineffective as long as poor and corrupt governments remain in place. However, if debt relief was combined with other measures to address the other problems, it would help reduce poverty by breaking the cycle of debt that prevents growth and also allowing spending on crucial services such as as education, necessary to achieve long-term sustainable growth. , as well as the Millennium Development Goals.