A high-profile debt relief programme for the world's poorest countries is mired in implementation problems and faces tougher times ahead as it moves to deal with conflict-riddled countries, say World Bank officials.
"We have difficult cases ahead of us," Jacob Kolster, Programme Manager for the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, said Thursday. "Progress is going to be very slow and very difficult as we move forward to bring more countries on board." The next stage of the initiative will cover Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sudan, Somalia, and other countries still subject to intense political and communal tension and, on occasion, violence.