Debt relief may take the form of either refinancing, re-organisation, rescheduling or cancellation of all repayments. A loan is refinanced when the creditor country makes a new loan to enable the debtor country to meet the debt service payments on an earlier loan. A loan is rescheduled when payments (including the interest) on the outstanding portion of the debt are rearranged to make payment easier.
Debt relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. It concerns in particular the Third World debt, which started exploding with the Latin American debt crisis (Mexico 1982, etc.).