Chapter 5 | Page 214 public spending.125 Some argue that aid is positively correlated with quality of life in democracies while the reverse is true in autocracies, and that this shows a clear link between aid, quality of life and the political context.126 Others argue that, despite decades of international aid, some regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa have not seen much economic growth or social development, which has prompted many to conclude that aid has failed to achieve its objectives.127 Weaknesses in the design and architecture of international assistance mechanisms, along with institutional challenges in developing recipient States, present significant challenges to the ability of States to increase the quantity and quality of international resources for ESC rights. Policies need to be better oriented towards maximisation of resource mobilisation efforts and outcomes. 5.3.3.2 Debt management and debt-forgiving Debt relief is another important form of aid. For the State whose debt is relieved, this is often the equivalent of a cash transfer (i.e. the amount of funds that would otherwise be drawn from the government budget for debt payment). Donors also normally treat debt relief as part of the aid budget.128 Debt burden and debt management have been identified as crucial elements of the ESC rights debate. In a number of cases, the ESCR Committee identified the relationship between a State’s foreign debt burden and its ability to realise ESC rights.129 For example, in its recent Concluding Observation on Cameroon, the Committee praised the State for its ‘efforts to reach completion point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, which enabled it to ease debt and thereby release additional resources to priority 125 Morrissey, above n 39, 142; Peter Lanjouw and Martin Ravallion, 'Benefit Incidence and the Timing of Program Capture' (1999) 13(2) World Bank Economic Review 257-274. 126 Kosack, above n 113, 11. 127 Morrissey, above n 91. 128 Morrissey, above n 39, 154. 129 CESCR, Concluding observations: Sudan, E/C.12/1/Add.48 (1 September 2000); CESCR, Concluding observations: Kyrgyzstan, E/C.12/1/Add.49 (1 September 2000).