G8 Leaders Warned over Aid Commitments
OneWorld, US
July 7, 2008
WASHINGTON, Jul 7 (OneWorld) - As leaders of eight of the most influential countries meet in Japan at the G8 Summit this week, international advocacy groups are warning that aid commitments to Africa are falling well short of their mark.
G8 leaders are expected to address the growing food crisis, climate change, and Zimbabwe's recent controversial election results early this week in Hokkaido, as non-profit groups and activists meet at The People's Summit in nearby Sopporo.
International advocacy groups are calling attention to the commitments made at the 2005 Gleneagles Summit, where G8 leaders pledged to increase aid levels to $50 billion, cancel millions in debts owed by the world's poorest nations, and achieve universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment -- all by 2010.
The G8 has fallen short of its target by $40 billion, says a report released by the Africa Progress Panel. The report, Africa's Development: Prospects and Promises, criticizes the lack of a clear framework to implement pledges.
The report calls on the developed countries to clearly outline funding sources, timetables, and stated pledges. "This information should be released immediately prior to or after each summit, to ensure that pledges and statements made at the summits are honored fully...[and] funding shortfalls against the 2010 targets should be addressed immediately."
Several ambassadors of the international aid group Oxfam recently released an open letter to the G8 leaders calling delays "a disgrace," saying that the G8's failure to meet these goals "are a potentially fatal blow to the millions of people who live in poverty simply because of where they were born."
"It is the world's poor who are most vulnerable to increased food prices and it is these same people who are affected worst by the impacts of climate change," the letter continued.
Africa Action, a group that lobbies Washington to increase support for African nations, released a report today addressing the G8's role in debt cancellation, trade policies, and HIV/AIDS.
The report further outlined the disparity between commitments made at the 2005 summit and current progress, stating that "the past three years have demonstrated that for the G8, the political will to act quickly and purposefully is lacking. If the international community is to assist Africa in reaching the targets for health, education, and development, urgent action must be undertaken now."
G8 policies, which have reduced support for small farmers and shifted land use from food production to export agriculture, are exacerbating the food crisis and pushing developing nations further into debt, noted the women's rights group MADRE.
MADRE and Africa Action are calling on the G8 to renew their commitments to cancel debts to developing countries, and both have criticized the International Monetary Fund and World Bank for conditional loans that further contribute to poverty and debt in developing countries.
There is concern, however, that weak economies in developed nations "may dominate this year's gathering of the leaders of rich nations, relegating Africa to secondary status," according to a report in Kenya's East African newspaper today.
For example, U.S. President George W. Bush hopes to announce the approval of $50 billion over the next five years to combat HIV/AIDS, with much of the funding to go to Africa. But, according to the East African, members of the U.S. Senate have opposed the aid increase "due to concerns about its impact on the U.S. budget."
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete is also present at this week's Summit to remind the G8 leaders of their commitments to the continent.