A Simple Request to the G8

Aid for Africa — and whether enough was coming from the world’s major economic powers — was in the spotlight Monday as the Group of Eight nations met with seven African leaders at its annual summit.

African aid was the centerpiece of the G-8 summit three years ago in Gleneagles, Scotland, where leaders pledged to increase foreign aid by $50 billion a year by 2010 — with half of that going directly to Africa — and to cancel the debt of the most heavily indebted poor nations.

Collectively, the G-8 has delivered just $3 billion of the $25 billion in additional aid pledged to Africa in 2005, according to DATA, which stands for Debt, AIDS and Trade in Africa, a group founded by U2 singer Bono and music producer Bob Geldof, both of whom are active in campaigns for Africa. Germany, the U.S. and Britain were following through on commitments, while progress from Japan, France, Italy and Canada was either unclear or weak, DATA said.

2008 is a landmark year in the fight against poverty and disease. The world is halfway to 2015 when the Millennium Goals must be achieved, but Africa is perilously off track. 2008 is also the halfway point between 2005 and 2010 when many G8 promises to Africa must be met such as the commitment to provide an additional $25 billion in effective aid for Africa. The G8 are dangerously behind on these landmark commitments.

In 2008, G8 leaders have the opportunity -- and responsibility -- to put weight behind their words. THE ONE Campaign is making one simple request to the G8 leadership and is inviting others to join in this request. The petition to the G8 leadership reads:

“We call upon you to build on recent success in fighting extreme poverty by delivering your commitments on healthcare, agriculture and education and by helping citizens in developing countries in their efforts to improve governance and fight corruption.”

You can add your voice and make this simple request to the G8 leaders by clicking here.

Stay connected...