Analysts and NGO’s are sceptical about the generosity of debt relief for developing countries, especially in the case of Mozambique. While the country has been praised as a "star pupil" by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, one analyst points out that all this really means is that Mozambique is now seen as a 'good debtor' because for the first time it is actually paying what the international community demands. In recent years Mozambique has only been able to repay around one quarter of the amount demanded by the international community. Even this is more than the country is able to spend on health and education combined.

Two decades of war left Mozambique littered with land mines. One study by the Canadian De-mining Institute estimates that there are approximately two million land mines, covering 70 percent of Mozambique's territory. The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies puts the number at three million. The experience Mozambique has gained trying to remove these deadly reminders of war means Mozambique probably has some of "the most capable de-miners in the world," according to Donald F. Patierno, Director of the State Department's Office of Humanitarian De-mining Programs.