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G8 leaders have moved too slowly to meet their promises to Africa and the rest of the world’s poor. International agency Oxfam is calling on the leaders to do far more, far faster, and to put their progress on Africa and poverty at the top of the agenda in Germany in 2007. Today G8 leaders spend an hour discussing progress on tackling poverty in Africa. Irungu Houghton, Oxfam spokesperson, said: ‘In the hour the G8 leaders sit talking, poverty will kill 2,000 people. Their approach has been late and light. They must do far more, far faster.’ ‘Africa and poverty are not take-it-or-leave-it issues. They must be at the top of the G8 agenda in Germany in 2007 and every year until we make poverty history.’ ‘The G8 promises to Africa are an issue life and death. The G8 must not drag their feet. The world is watching and we will not look away.’ ‘If the G8 leaders drag their feet on their promises to Africa, the 36 million who last year demanded action will not forgive them.’ ‘The G8 leaders have delivered promised debt cancellation, but the aid and support to peacekeeping they promised is yet to arrive, and a deal on trade which benefits poor countries is further away than ever. The G8 must do more and do it now.’ In 2005, 36 million people in over 70 countries took action to demand that G8 leaders end poverty. Specifically they called for cancellation of debts owed by poor countries, increases in aid and a new deal on world trade that favours poor nations. Oxfam also called for action to end conflict and humanitarian crises in places such as Darfur and Northern Uganda. Contact Taylor Thompson, +7 917 507 2041 Notes to Editors Debt cancellation making a difference Increased aid not being delivered nearly fast enough Education and health initiatives languishing unfunded Peacekeeping and humanitarian relief falling short Trade justice still out of reach Window of opportunity - African governments start to fulfil their side of the bargain
Lys Holdoway, +44 772 146 1342
Progress has been made since the G8 in Gleneagles. Debts owed by 17 poor countries to the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank have been cancelled. This already means new resources for countries to spend on urgent needs. Zambia, for example, is now training new teachers and nurses thanks to debt cancellation.
Sadly the promise to increase aid is not being fulfilled nearly fast enough. Official aid figures for 2006 are artificially inflated by counting debt cancellation for Iraq and Nigeria. Oxfam calculates that French aid fell by 2% in 2005, and German aid fell by 8%. Other G8 countries have registered small increases, but none are on track to meet their promises.
G8 leaders pledged to get every child into school by 2015, but have not fully funded the key multilateral mechanism, the Education for All Fast Track Initiative. G8 leaders also promised universal AIDS treatment by 2010, yet have failed to fund the UN’s Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the key multilateral vehicle on AIDS.
In Darfur just 7,000 African union troops are trying to secure a region the size of France and 3 million people are dependent on humanitarian assistance. Despite G8 leaders’ promises to support peace-keeping and much talk of a UN operation, the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) lacks funds, resources and troops to carry out essential security and protection patrols. A donor conference for Darfur takes place next week.
WTO talks are floundering because of the US and EU refusals to reform agricultural subsidies which are destroying the livelihoods of African farmers. Oxfam analysis shows that under US and EU proposals dumping of key products like cotton and sugar would continue unabated. In addition their insistence on dramatic reductions in industrial tariffs threatens the potential for industrialization in Africa.
In the last year, 53 African Governments committed to achieving 80% coverage for HIV treatment and prevention by 2010 and strengthening post conflict reconstruction in Liberia, Southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In anticipation of greater international assistance, a number of African countries have eliminated user fees for medical treatment and primary education. In Burundi, an extra 300,000 walked into classrooms for the first time. The first set of African countries (Kenya, Rwanda and Ghana) completed peer reviews by other African leaders during the recent African Union Summit.