David Cameron and other G8 leaders; pregnant with promises
G8 lowers the bar on aid, with no guarantee they’ll clear it
G8 lowers the bar on aid, with no guarantee they’ll clear it
The G8’s much-touted initiative to tackle child and maternal mortality turned out to be a woeful disappointment today, said World Vision, as Prime Minister Harper announced US$5 billion in new funding over five years to address the worst global poverty indicators.
The host country took an impressive lead, committing US$1.1bn in new funds, but the rest of the G8 barely registered, contributing less than US$4bn between them, meaning millions of children will continue to die each year, said World Vision UK’s Government Relations Manager Chris Page
“Despite promises to the contrary, the Muskoka Initiative looks more like a small down payment than an adequate investment, and won’t do nearly as much as it needs to to dramatically reduce preventable child and maternal deaths.”
“If the Canadian summit is anything to go by, the G8 will spend more on their meetings over the next five years than they’ve pledged today.”
A chequered history
While welcoming the Initiative in principle for its focus and new monetary allocation, Page said the G8’s somewhat chequered history on delivering on its promises was a further cause for concern.
“In the past, they’ve promised a lot and delivered little. Now they’re promising relatively little. The bar seems set to continue to fall.
No information has yet been received about individual contributions outside those of Canada, but Page said what matters most now is not promises, but action.
“We’re only 30 per cent of the way to achieving our goal of halving child mortality by 2015, and at this rate we won’t even get there by 2030.
“We have no choice now but to look to the G20 countries to step up and make the progress we so desperately need to see in addressing the needs of the nearly nine million children and 350,000 mothers who tragically die each year.”
Focus now shifts to the upcoming MDG Summit review, held this September in New York. Where World Vision will continue to hold governments to account.
28 June 2010
