There is growing recognition that the enhanced HIPC programme for debt relief is flawed since countries reaching completion are still saddled with unsustainable levels of debt.
The debate on how to fix it is gearing up. One thing at least is clear: money and lots of it will be needed to fix the problem and there's no sign of that from these meetings. With the notable exception of the UK's pledge to cancel 10% of the debt owed by 30 countries to the African Development Bank and World Bank, money for faster debt relief remains as distant as ever.
The positions on enhancing the HIPC programme range from minor adjustments to a complete overhaul. Even those that favour minor tinkering, such as Eduardo Montealegre, finance minister of Nicaragua, a nation that has successfully been through the HIPC programme, acknowledge that some aspects of the current set up need to be addressed. Perhaps the most significant is the temptation by countries to open the purse strings after they complete the programme, once again building up unsustainable levels of debt.
Hilde Johnson, minister of international development for Norway, calls for tailored solutions through a more flexible HIPC programme. She says, however, that a revolution in HIPC is not desirable. The programme needs greater flexibility to address individual country's circumstances, she adds.
Nancy Birdsall, president of the Center for Global Development, dubs HIPC a failure. It has already been enhanced once, she notes, adding: "It's embarrassing to have to look at enhancing the enhanced HIPC," she says.
She calls for a greater differentiation between countries and individual programmes, more emphasis on performance and says that donors must be made more accountable for mistakes that led to the failure of the programme.
For now, the debate remains academic because of donor reluctance to commit financing. "Let's not fool ourselves. Debt relief has to be paid for," says Johnson, adding that unless significant commitments of new money are made, money will simply need to be diverted from other projects to fund HIPC.