Friday, July 08, 2005

The leaders of the world's eight richest nations have concluded their summit with the promise of a package of measures including a $50bn (£28.8bn) boost to aid, and debt-cancellation for the poorest nations. They also plan to forge fairer trade deals in the future, to increase access to Aids treatment and to provide a $3bn aid package to the Palestinian Authority.


Responds to G8 Communique

Make Poverty History has become an unprecedented movement of passion, energy and solidarity. Never before have so many people in the world come together, fully united in demanding action to end poverty, with a roar for justice that they felt was impossible to ignore.

Today the G8 have chosen not to do all that campaigners insist is necessary to free people trapped in the prison of poverty. Important steps have been taken - steps that will bring hope to millions. But more action is urgently needed if they are to play their role in bringing about real change for the world's poorest people and consigning extreme poverty to the history books. To secure a deserved place in history, the G8 must go a lot further and secure real change by working with other world leaders at the UN summit on the Millennium Development Goals and talks around the World Trade Organisation. The people of the world are already on the road to justice. They expect their leaders to be with them. Today's announcement has shown that the G8 need to run much faster to catch up.

Read more on the Make Poverty History website ...

Rock musicians Bob Geldof and Bono, who have spearheaded a global push to tackle African poverty, broadly welcomed a pledge on Friday by the Group of Eight (G8) nations to double aid to Africa.

"The people have roared but the G8 has whispered," said Kumi Naidoo, chair of the Global Call to Action against Poverty.



"To save lives is never a whisper.
People were screaming before, a whisper is not a bad thing.
Please, perspective!
Never before have so many people forced a change of policy onto a global agenda.
If anyone had said eight weeks ago: 'Will we get a doubling of aid? Will we get a deal on debt?' People would have said 'no'.
I would have said no.
Today is a great day for those ten million people (who will be saved)."



"Six hundred thousand people will be alive to remember this G8 in Gleneagles who would have lost their lives to a mosquito bite," Bono said, referring to the difference he thought the extra aid would make to fighting malaria.

Read more reactions on BBC's website ...

Posted by BeanZ | Permalink: 11:05 PM |