Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative

Our HIPC Initiative is a method to reduce the debt of a heavily indebted poor country. The Initiative aims to help countries manage how to repay their existing debt or take on new debt through a mixture of sound policies, generous debt relief, and new inflows of aid.

We give legal advice to Commonwealth countries facing active debt litigation, , or likely to face litigation from commercial creditors. Technical and advisory support is given to HIPC countries to strengthen their legal expertise and negotiating abilities regarding loan agreements. We are also working towards the enactment of a fiscal responsibility framework which if adopted will bring fiscal discipline in the countries.

22 countries have benefitted from our HIPC Initiative and have received debt relief. They are: Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.