The Philippine government has proposed that half of all scheduled debt payments be withheld for a specified period, to be invested in reforestation, clean water, housing, food production, primary healthcare, sanitation, basic education, farm-to-market roads, ecologically sound tourism, micro-finance, and related MDG projects. For lenders, debt could be converted, wherever possible, into equity in MDG projects with earning potential, while building up poor countries’ capacity for self-reliance.