On February 4th and 5th, leaders of the G-7 nations convened in London to discuss options for ending the grievous cycle of debt that has plagued the world’s most impoverished nations for years. Announcements and proposals prior to the meetings by officials from the United States and Britain calling for 100% cancellation of multilateral debt spurred optimism that a deal could and would be reached over the weekend. Unfortunately, disagreements between John Taylor, the Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, and Gordon Brown, Finance Minster for Britain over how to finance the cancellation prevented debt-laden nations from receiving the solutions they need.1 Furthermore, the proposals on the table also failed to include provisions that would eliminate the contentious conditions attached to the current Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) debt-sustainability framework that have caused fierce objections among some debtor nations.2