L’ Aquila, Italy. (8 July 2009) More than 75,000 children will die during the three-day G8 summit, according to
Save the Children.The aid agency warned the G8 leaders who are meeting today in L’Aquila are failing to do enough to save the lives of the 9.2 million children who die every year from
easily preventable diseases.Only 3% of aid that rich countries give to the developing world goes into maternal, newborn and child healthcare. The total contribution is only US$3.5 billion
dollars year, half of what Save the Children is calling for.Save the Children said that if the G8 leaders and other donors do not double that money to at least US$7 billion by 2012, they
will have no chance of reaching their target to reduce child mortality by two thirds by 2015. At the current rate of progress, this target will only be achieved by 2045.Adrian Lovett, Save
the Children’s director of campaigns said: “It is outrageous that 9.2 million children are still dying every year. More than 75,000 alone will die over the three-day G8 summit.“Previous G8 leaders have made promises that have too often not been kept. This year they have to show they are committed to saving children’s lives by doubling aid for maternal, newborn
and child healthcare.“The G8 and other rich countries are only giving US$3.5 billion a year to stop children dying. That’s half of what Save the Children knows is needed to
substantially reduce child mortality.”The G8 leaders have also failed to deliver on the promise they made in Gleneagles: that the G8 and other world leaders would give an extra US$50
billion in aid by 2010, bringing the total to US$130 billion. New figures by Save the Children show that contributions from the G8 members alone are already US$20 billion short, a deficit
which looks set to rise to US$25 billion by next year. Adrian Lovett continued: “Quite simply, every dollar the G8 holds back means another child’s life is threatened and more
children will die.”
Save the Children is urging the G8 leaders in Rome to:
dramatically increase funding to meet aid promises made at Gleneagles.
double the
money for child and maternal healthcare from US$3.5 billion (2006) to US$7 billion in 2012 to get back on track to reduce child mortality by two thirds.
prioritise aid for countries with the
highest child mortality rates and number of under-five deaths.
More information
For more information or interviews please contact Sarah Jacobs on +44 7826 532 986 or Sarah Tyler on +44 7958 337 624. A Save the Children Media
Officer is available 24 hours a day on +44 7831650409
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
People in a neighbouring block survey the damage at Lukanal House after six people died in a fire in Camberwell, south London July 4, 2009. A three-week-old baby and two children ...
