G8 accused of betraying Africa again

G8 again betraying Africa and has become a graveyard of broken promises, ActionAid says As the G8 leaders met African heads of state today (Monday), ActionAid voiced fears that the smallholder farmers who provide the backbone of African food production were about to be ignored once again. “We are concerned that G8 is again betraying Africa on aid by backtracking on its commitments. G8 has now become a graveyard of broken promises,” said John Samuel, Actionaid’s International Director Asia. ActionAid warned that if the G8’s agriculture action plan is based on the outcomes of the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, held in May, it will be geared towards promoting heavy use of fertilizers and high yield seeds. "We welcome the G8’s newfound attention to agriculture, but we need an approach which is environmentally and financially sustainable for the women smallholders who are the backbone of Africa’s food system," said Carol Kayira, Actionaid’s food rights coordinator from Malawi. “With more investment in direct support to farmers, a renewed extension system to spread agricultural knowledge, easier credit, more secure tenure rights for women and more investment in sustainable low-input farming methods, Malawi's small farmers could produce much more food,” Kayira added. Meanwhile there are fears that the G8 will default on past promises of aid to Africa, including funds for the fight against Aids. Earlier drafts of the summit communiqué showed signs of backtracking from the promise of a US$25 billion increase in annual aid to Africa by 2010. ActionAid understands that the $25 billion pledge to Africa has been restored to the text, but expressed concern that the pledge of US$50 billion by 2010 worldwide is still missing from the current draft. Actionaid believes that three years on from the Gleneagles summit, the G8's commitments on HIV and Aids are as important as ever to Africa. 70% of people who need treatment in low and middle income countries are still not receiving it. Last year, 2.5 million people were newly infected and over 2 million people died from Aids. Two thirds of HIV-positive pregnant women are still unable to get drugs that could prevent the virus being passed on to their child. “Women living with HIV/AIDS can no longer wait as the G8 has to decide between life and death now. We understand that the target of universal access to prevention, treatment and care is in the latest draft of the communiqué but the 2010 deadline is missing. Similarly, the text says there will be US$60 billion for health but again there is no timeline given. If we don't know who is providing the money and by when, this will be a step back from last year's promises,” said Kayira. ActionAid welcomed the US plan to give $10bn for AIDS treatment, prevention and care over the next five years, which is currently awaiting Congressional approval. ActionAid challenged other G8 countries to match or better the US offer and said that the dropping of the requirement that a proportion of funds be set aside for abstinence promotion was a victory for Aids activists and women’s rights groups. ENDS

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