These nations were forced to turn to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank for help. Help came with a price. The IMF imposed conditions on the short term, high- interest loans it granted developing countries. These conditions led to basic food prices rising rapidly and consistently, squeezed the incomes of the poor, and reduced basic health and education services - a turn of events that placed the heaviest burden on women. In Zambia, it forced Lillian Daka to stop selling agricultural produce in one of Lusaka's markets because she could not afford to pay the high prices for goods.
Debt affects women most because their lives encompass all aspects of life.
They are mothers, caregivers, homemakers and managers of the household economy. Rosemary Mwale in Zambia feels responsible when she is not able to provide sufficient food for her family, and not able to afford medication for her sick children, even though the real cause is the government reducing spending on social services. There are stories similar to Lillian's and Rosemary's in Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Jamaica - stories that began in the 1980s and continue in the '90s as developing countries slide deeper into the debt pit. These women have to watch helplessly as the vicious cycle repeats itself with their daughters. Structural adjustment has led to developing nations cutting off subsidies which means shutting down some schools.