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in Bono, lead singer of U2, commented:
“The G8 know that this year they’ve failed to respond to Africa’s needs with sufficient vision. Incremental steps and distant promises are still their trademark. The commitments made in Kananaskis must be swallowed into something much more ambitious to make a historic new partnership with Africa real. To give up at the start would be to give in to the cynics, and dash the hopes of the millions whose lives hang in the balance here.”
There have been notable developments during the past year since G8 leaders committed in Genoa to focus on problems in Africa, including a promise to reverse the trend of declining foreign assistance. Modest bilateral initiatives on education and AIDS have been put forward by Prime Minister Chretien, the host, President Bush, Prime Minister Blair and President Chirac. But collectively, the G8 Africa Action plan falls far short of what the richest nations could and should do to support the poorest continent.
Specifically:
The G8 have announced a potential $6 billion a year extra in aid to Africa from 2004, which is a much-needed increase. The UN estimates that if African countries are to meet the internationally agreed poverty targets by 2015, the amount needed is an extra $25 billion – $35 billion per year.
The G8 have also announced an extra $1 billion to for debt relief for the poorest countries. This money is welcomed, but will only cover existing shortfalls in funding. It will not result in increased debt relief over and above that already agreed by the G8. African countries still pay $40 million a day in debt.
DATA argues for a deal: deeper debt relief, full funding for international AIDS and Education initiatives and fairer trade terms from rich nations in return for democracy, accountability and transparency from African leadership.
For more information call Jamie Shor at Venture Communications at 202-628-7772 or Jamie Drummond at 44 (0) 7961 346 334 or Lucy Matthew at 44 (0) 7970 175 324 (London).
Notes for Editors:
What DATA ( http://www.datadata.org) is asking for:
– Debt: deeper debt cancellation for all African democracies committed to accountable and transparent poverty alleviation plans. — AIDS: full funding of the $10 billion annual “war chest” to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria. — Education: Full funding for the Education for All Initiative. — Trade: quota and duty-free access to industrialized nation markets for African exports.
African leadership: For their part, African leaders need to involve their citizens and civil society much more in the process if the New Partnership for African Development is truly to reflect the concerns and unlock the potential of Africans. They should also make the peer-review mechanism central to NEPAD much more tough and independent.
