L'AQUILA, Italy - G8 leaders look set to pull off an "Italian Job" in which they take the money they pledged to Africa and run. In a cruel pastiche of the movie of the same name, it appears they may have already planned the heist, with G8 chairman Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi arranging his crew's getaway under the cover of his 'Whole Country Approach' scheme for developing nations.
"We had all hoped the new G8 leaders would push the others to finally meet the key funding promises made in 2005 in Gleneagles," said World Vision's Africa Advocacy Director Sue Mbaya. "But it's looking like we'll be watching a re-run of the same old movie in which the G8 fills its communiqué with reheated aid pledges with no clear timelines."
Failing yet again to deliver on its promises to developing nations will further erode the G8's already tarnished credibility. But more importantly, it threatens a huge social cost at a time when global recession is hitting low-income countries hardest. The World Bank estimates that as many as 2.8 million additional child deaths could result between now and 2015 unless urgent action is taken to mitigate the impact of the economic slowdown on household income and public spending."
While non-G8 donors, responsible for a quarter of the total aid increase, are delivering on their side of the deal, aid from the G8 countries has actually fallen. So far, G8 countries have raised aid by just one third of the total they pledged in 2005. France and Italy are the worst offenders.
"Aid, in particular money spent on improving the health of children and their mothers, is one of the best investments the G8 could make in this current financial crunch," said Sue Mbaya. "Economist Jeffrey Sachs himself said way back in 2001: 'We believe that the additional investment in health...would be repaid many times over in millions of lives saved each year, enhanced economic development, and strengthened global security.'
She added, "Not only is keeping its promises the right thing to do, it's the bright thing to do."
Nevertheless the G8 seem determined to avoid their responsibilities and rather than jamming up l'Aquila's roads with faulty traffic lights, Berlusconi's attempt at misdirection at the Summit is a new initiative called the "Whole Country Approach". The host country, Italy, is actually slashing its aid spending and Berlusconi is suggesting that the definition of what counts as aid should change. The idea is to bundle together not only what each government gives in aid, but also what charities, individuals, companies and trade contribute to development.
"Bringing together business, civil society and other actors to ensure coherent development policy is one thing," said Sue Mbaya. "The danger here is that the whole country approach looks a lot like an opportunity for creative accounting that enables backsliding countries like Italy and France to 'meet' their aid commitment targets.
"Our message to the G8—particularly Italy and France—is that now is not the time for smoke and mirrors, or for protecting national interests. It's time for meeting funding commitments and for pledging more. Unless G8 governments continue to invest in overseas aid, particularly in child health, they risk losing the moral, social and economic gains made to date.
"We're only asking for 2 per cent of the total stimulus package announced for G8 countries at the London G20 Summit. Acting like a self-preservation society is only going to damage G8 countries and mean poor health and death for millions of children in the world's poorest countries."
For more information or an interview with Sue Mbaya or German & French spokesperson Marwin Meier
In l'Aquila
· German and French journalists contact Silvia Holten on +49-175-29 59 758
· UK journalists contact: Tennille Bergin on +44 (0) 787-650-3978
· Canadian journalists contact Sharon Marshall on +1-416-616-9147
· Italian journalists contact Elena Chiarella on +39 (0) 632-803-437
· Journalists from other nations and international journalists contact Jan Butter on +44 (0) 782-793-8780
In Washington:
· Geraldine Ryerson-Cruz on +1-202-615-2608
In Japan:
· Keiko Asano +81-90-6567-9711
Note to editors:
· World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities in around 100 countries to overcome poverty and injustice. Motivated by our Christian faith, we serve all people regardless of religion, race, gender or ethnicity.
See related 1-minute video spot at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW4LKKL4suc
· Visit www.g8action.org
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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