‘Huge benefits’ in greater debt relief for lower income countries, study finds

Exclusive: Levels of education and sanitation predicted to massively improve if creditors reduced payments

Reducing the debt payments made by poor countries to more sustainable levels could help 5 million more children attend school and provide access to clean drinking water to 17 million people, according to research.

A study by academics at the universities of St Andrews and Leicester said there would be huge benefits" - including saving the lives of 60,000 children and mothers - from slashing the size of repayments.