The International Monetary Fund, also known as the Fund, was created in 1944 due to the Great Depression and with the intent of preventing a similar event. The IMF is normally the last resort for countries needing emergency financing and therefore carries high interest rates. “This financial assistance allows countries to rebuild their international reserves, stabilize their currencies, continue to pay for imports and restore the conditions for strong economic growth.” IMF (2018). The IMF primarily aims at exchange rate stability and promoting global financial stability. On the other hand, the World Bank provides more than just a loan. The World Bank aims to promote more sustainable growth through lending and educating countries about future development. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The World Bank supports “a wide range of investments in sectors such as education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development” etc.”. Major debt relief programs are created with the cooperation of both the World Bank and the IMF, including other institutions. The World Bank runs several projects independently in less developed countries. Public debt, also known as national debt, is widely known to be disproportionately high among HIPC (highly indebted poor countries) countries. There are 40 known HIPC countries for which they owe debt to the IMF, the World Bank, other countries and private investors. The initiative began in 1996. The main premise behind the program was to ensure that less developed economies “were not overwhelmed by unmanageable or unsustainable debt burdens.” The criteria to benefit from the initiative were stringent. According to the World Bank, they helped clear “36 participating countries with $99 billion in debt.” The criteria to be considered for the debt relief program such as HIPC are as follows: The country should meet a certain income threshold to be considered. The IMF and World Bank then decide the amount and complexity of the payments and the plans to follow. The world community therefore undertakes to respect the plan. The second part of the initiative is that countries will receive aid, once they have committed to a program aimed at reducing poverty in their country. The main objective of the initiative is to promote long-term growth and sustainability. The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) was introduced in 2005, the main aim of the initiative was to cancel the debts of some of the poorest countries. In some cases, 100% debt settlement has been proposed. The MDRI is an improved version of previous bilateral and multilateral debt initiatives of the last 20 years. “The goal of the MDRI program is to free up additional resources for poorer countries to help them achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Weiss, Martin. (2012). The Millennium Goal was to halve extreme poverty by 2015. “To date, the International Monetary Fund has provided MDRI debt relief to 21 countries, totaling $3.67 billion.” (A. Weiss, M. 2012) The key reflection one can have in this essay is whether the WTO and the World Bank are the real winners of these initiatives and whether the HIPC will benefit from them in the long term. The initiative includes strict guidelines that must be implemented by the country otherwise they could face sanctions. The effect MDRI has on future performance is not.