UN General Assembly
2004

a priority goal in international economic cooperation. The General Assembly should look more closely at innovative tools that will help spur economic growth, particularly in developing countries. Greater attention should be focused on how micro-credit or microfinance — an area where the Philippines has made significant strides — could serve as an instrument to alleviate the conditions of the poorest of the poor. Creative ways to solve the lingering debt issue and the spiralling cost of energy should also be considered. We need to ease the burden of debt servicing and to channel those meagre resources to where they are needed most. Each day, developing countries pay the rich nations $717 million in debt service. Every baby born in the developing world already owes $482 at birth. Every year, sub-Saharan Africa pays $10 billion in debt service — four times as much money as the countries in the region spend on health care and education. The wise mobilization of domestic resources, such as remittances for development, should also be carefully studied. Remittances by migrants — much greater than the total