G8 leaders reaffirm African sponsorship
10/07/2008
The Group of Eight leading economic powers this week affirmed their commitment to seeing through pledges of financial aid for Africa.
Speaking at their annual summit - held in Hokkaido, Japan - the international forum unanimously declared that it is "firmly committed" to fulfilling the aid targets it outlined in 2005.
During that meeting in Gleneagles, the world's most powerful economic nations - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US - pledged to boost annual aid levels by $50 billion (£25 billion) by 2010.
Outlining the various initiatives that will be encompassed in forthcoming sponsorship programmes, the G8 countries pointed to the provision of 100 million insecticide-treated bed nets (ITBNs) to Africa.
Health experts says ITBNs are the most effective way of protecting vulnerable people from mosquito-borne malaria, which kills over one million mostly African children every year.
But some humanitarian advocates voiced disappointment at the lack of a firm timetable for spending plans.
"The world economic situation has limited the ambitions of this G8, but the plain fact remains that there was a political contract in 2005 of deep seriousness," activist Bob Geldof said in a statement.
He added: "The fact remains that the numbers are so small that the eight wealthiest economies in the planet can easily, without argument, meet their commitments if they choose to."
A report released last month by the Africa Progress Panel found that, under current spending plans, the G8 will fall $40 billion short of its Gleneagles commitments.
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