Aid Groups: G8 Needs To Keep Promises To Africa

A malnourished boy is portrayed at a feeding center in Damota Pulassa village, southern Ethiopia, 10 June 2008 When the leaders of the world's wealthiest nations meet at the G-8summit in Italy next week, one topic on their agenda will be the fightagainst poverty in Africa. The G-8 nations have provided developmentassistance to African countries in recent years, but some aid groupsare calling for the world's leaders to do more.

The annual G-8 summit bringstogether the leaders of the eight most powerful nations in the world. It is a chance for leaders to discuss solutions to global problems. Aid groups are hopeful the G-8 leaders this year will decide toincrease development aid to Africa.

Meredith Alexander is withthe anti-poverty group Action Aid in London. She says the G-8 has theopportunity to help struggling African nations.

"Action aidexpects that roughly $50 billion will be lost for Africa this year as aresult of the recession," said Alexander. "Then things like climatechange, the growing crisis of hunger, older issues like AIDS andeducation. All of these things are problems for Africa, and it's greatto see the G-8 taking these issues seriously."

Action Aid hopesAfrican agriculture will be one area that will receive an increase ofaid from the G-8.  Alexander says helping small holder farmers inAfrica could reduce hunger. But she says the G-8 has a history ofmaking empty promises.

"We think the G-8 leaders should reallybe putting their money where their mouth is and that responsibility isfirst and foremost to the host, Italy," she said.  

But a recentreport released by the international aid organization One, says theupcoming summit host, Italy, is not pulling its weight.
   
Thegroup says Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has "utterlyfailed" to maintain the assistance to Africa promised at a summit in2005.

"You want a chair that will really hold people's feet tothe fire and make sure promises are kept, and he's not in a credibleposition to do that at the moment," said Europe Director, Oliver Buston.

Thegroup says it is hopeful other foreign leaders will put pressure onItaly to reverse its spending cuts and do more to develop Africanagriculture.

"It's a basic thing about keeping promises," said Buston. "We know when this aid money is used effectively it canachieve great results. These G-8 countries have made promises to thepoorest people on the planet. They've got to keep them."  

Onesays African countries have only received one third of the aid promisedby the G-8 in 2005. But it and other advocacy groups hope leaders atthis year's summit will be aware of the need to do more.