Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Advocates lobby G-20 nations on behalf of Africa’s poor
Despite great strides made by G20 leaders to address some of the issues affecting the world’s poorest, “the international advocates who lobbied the summit on behalf of the poor said the challenge of developing impoverished countries, particularly in Africa, remains the same.” Key among the challenges, they said, remains a need to infuse short-term capital and development aid toward agriculture and food security, access to clean and affordable energy and steps to slow the devastation caused by climate change. Tom Hart, director of U.S. government relations at ONE is quoted.

Reuters: Africa worries it still footnote despite G20 pledge
African Development Bank president Donald Kaberuka said Saturday that despite the decision made at the Pittsburgh Summit to make the G20 the main forum for economic cooperation, low-income countries may still be sidelined. According to Kaberuka, the global financial crisis hit Africa hard and he had made a plea to the G20 leaders not to remove the stimulus packages too soon as signs of recovery were still very new. “The way it is now structured…the low-income countries’ priorities are still an appendix, a footnote,” Kaberuka said.

News 24 (South Africa): Nations compete at expanded G20
A surprise deal to bring China, India and other emerging powers into the elite club of global summitry has “unleashed a new round of jockeying as nations vie to shape the agenda.” Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, feared it was perhaps inevitable that some nations would feel excluded by the G20, particularly in Africa. ONE is quoted saying that “the G20 a “step in the right direction” but said Africa was sorely under-represented.”

Christian Science Monitor: G20 summit wraps up with some success – for nations and Obama
According to the Christian Science Monitor, the main achievement of the G20 summit last week was the “institutionalization of the G20 as the new economic forum for world leaders to provide tighter coordination of their economic policies and an effort to keep imbalances from taking place.” But, the world leaders were unable to agree on an exit strategy for their massive fiscal stimulus. And, they disappointed some environmental groups who were hoping for some concrete commitment of money to help developing countries pay for shifting from fossil fuels.

-Robyn Mitchell