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The Structural Adjustment Facility is formed by the World Bank.

1989

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The World Bank forms the Structural Adjustment Facility, a low-interest loan program that will run until 1999 and leave scores of countries in the Global South in debt to the World Bank.

Both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank develop structural adjustment programs in this era that undermine social services and economic growth. The programs require receiving governments to prioritize repaying debts over investing in health infrastructure and other social spending.

The IMF's structural adjustment programs cause a rise in the cost of imported medical equipment, increase fees for public health treatments and the cost of essential drugs, create a scarcity of health workers, and increase national debt.