Debt relief doesn't mean more aid

I've never been a fan of debt relief for poor countries: it's rarely an increase in foreign aid anyway.

"The debt relief deal, though welcome, will only generate $750 million a year in
new foreign aid - that is a 1 percent increase in total aid, assuming governments do not take the money out of the budgets of existing aid programs."
"Ranking the Rich 2005", Foreign Policy, September/October 2005

Well, they do. At my job, I've seen it first hand: a government has cut its budget to a development bank because the recent debt relief had been too costly. They had to find money somewhere else - within the official development assistance (ODA) budget, that is.

Funny to see how many self-righteous countries are actually ranking lower than the US: France and Spain at the forefront. Yes, they both beat the US hands-down at ODA as a percentage of their GDP, but this ranking clearly shows that many more factors impact on development.