Debt relief as panacea for solving the development crisis of sub-Saharan Africa

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In recent years, poverty reduction has become a focal point for development agencies. While regions like Latin America and East Asia have made significant strides in improving living conditions, sub-Saharan Africa continues to lag, showing only marginal improvements in quality of life. This region remains the least developed globally, raising ongoing concerns about its development challenges. Despite extensive efforts to address the crisis, sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa remains elusive. Currently, debt relief initiatives, such as the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI), are central to development cooperation, with debt relief viewed as a potential solution. However, without a favorable institutional environment in sub-Saharan African nations, debt relief alone is unlikely to yield the desired outcomes. The HIPC Initiative, which emphasizes a solid track record with the IMF and the development of a poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) with civil society involvement, may hold promise for enhancing institutional quality. This study examines the potential for institutional change through the PRSP approach in eight case study countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.