The 2008 G8 Summit: Outcomes for Africa

African development was again the subject of G8 discussions as world leaders gathered in Toyako, Hokkaido in northern Japan from July 7-9 for the 2008 G8 Summit. While the G8 was confronted with multiple global challenges, including climate change and a weakening global economy, the 2008 Hokkaido Summit marked an important “mid point” moment in the fight against poverty. The Hokkaido Summit came at the critical halfway point to both the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the G8 Gleneagles promises to Africa. The G8 are dangerously behind on their landmark commitments to the region, having delivered only $3 billion of the promised $25 billion in additional assistance to Africa by 2010, according to the 2008 DATA Report.

After difficult negotiations, the G8 summit yielded small gains for the poorest. The bulk of G8 agreements on development and Africa and food security reiterated previous pledges rather than outlining new measures to get the group back on track. The G8 did announce plans for a new effort to tackle the global food crisis, though more details are needed to ensure its effectiveness and delivery. They highlighted the UN High-level meeting on the MDGs in September as an important opportunity to review progress and identify actions needed to overcome remaining challenges.

At a time when G8 credibility is at risk due to slow progress in delivering on commitments, there was a strong call for greater accountability in the G8 Communique. The G8 agreed to track progress against previous commitments in health, education, water and agriculture, as well as its compliance with anti-corruption measures.

Overall, the US, UK and Germany provided strong leadership in negotiations and have significantly increased their funding for Africa in recent years.

After the jump, the following brief overview of outcomes for Africa from the 2008 G8 Summit.

-Ben Hubbard

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Clean Water Transforming a Community

In Mozambique, less than half the population has access to clean drinking water. As a result, diarrhea and cholera, two diseases caused by unclean water and poor hygiene, are leading causes of child deaths in the country.

Today, I had the opportunity to see a MCC-supported program in Mozambique that is piping clean water into a community. I saw how lives can be transformed with access to clean water. While most of us in the United States take safe drinking water for granted, there are over one billion people around the world without access to clean water. But thanks to some amazing programs funded by the U.S. and others, some of the world’s poorest people here in Mozambique now have access to clean water, which is not only helping keep them healthy but also increasing their ability to earn money and attend school.

One neighborhood we toured has struggled with cholera outbreaks for many years. In January, with the help of the Global Fund and others, a clean water piping system was brought to the community. The results are remarkable- while last year over 1,000 people were stricken with cholera, by this year that number had fallen to 20.

Another benefit for the community has been more time for work and school, especially for women and girls. Women and children are often charged with the task of collecting water for the family. Before the new piping system was introduced, this meant they often had to spend hours each day collecting water. Now that each family has a stand pipe in their yard or home, attendance rates at schools have improved and women are able to dedicate more time to income-generating activities like gardening.

Clean water is one of the most basic human needs and it was very inspiring to see first-hand how US development assistance is literally saving and transforming lives here in Mozambique.

-Kim Smith

Playing With Water

More from our Mozambique. (Previous posts here.)

Later in the afternoon we traveled to a marketplace where a theater group, funded by the group PSI, performed a short play about sanitizing water. During the performance we learned that you just need to drop a few drops of the products (certeza) into a jug of water, shake it around, and wait 30 minutes to purify the water. The actors were, well, quite good - and a large crowd, including many children, gathered to watch. At the end, anyone who asked a question got a free bottle of the product. Each bottle is enough for 60 large jugs of water - and usually cost the equivalent of about 30 cents.

Similar theater groups perform plays about malaria and HIV.

-Virginia Simmons

World Water Day 2008 (T- 3 days)

Our friends at Water Advocates compiled this list of upcoming World Water Day events.

Beginning Sunday, March 16 through Saturday, March 22, restaurants will invite their customers to donate a minimum of $1 for the tap water they would normally get for free. These donations to UNICEF will go towards improving access to safe water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities, while promoting safe hygiene practices in more than 90 countries around the world. Plug in your zip code to find restaurants in your city.

World Water Day 2008 will be celebrated by the UN on Thursday, March 20. In New York you can help bring awareness to the sanitation crisis by “standing up for those that can’t sit down.”

PSI will host a World Water Day discussion about their Safe Water Programs, the successes and challenges, and the way forward on March 20 from 3:30-5:00 PM. If interested, please RSVP to akhanna@psi.org.

Celebrate World Water Day with Water For People on Friday, March 21. Raffles and speakers-including Amy Hart - Filmmaker, WATER FIRST-will make the evening one to remember.

If in Louisville, KY, join Edge Outreach on March 21, 2008 for a night of music, water and film. Join speakers and hear stories of what is being done for those without water and sanitation.

The DC Environmental Film Festival will have several water movies showing on World Water Day March 22. There is also a panel of water experts at 4:00 PM that day from Water Advocates, the Global Water Challenge, Natural Resources Defense Council and ConservationStrategy.

Join the Global Water Challenge, Water Advocates and others at the Student Movement for Real Change event on March 22: “Water is Life: Youth Leading Change on World Water Day”.

In 2007, 69 cities across the United States passed resolutions acknowledging March 22 as World Water Day. Join those interested in promoting World Water Day in a variety of events across the country.

WaterAid America in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History present a panel discussion exploring the burden unsafe water and sanitation place on women, and the role women can play in water and sanitation development interventions. The discussion will be held on World Water Day, March 22.

Attention runners: join in an effort to raise awareness about the global water and sanitation challenge and help build a borehole well in the Azawak Valley, Niger - sign up for a Run for Water on March 22.

The Global Health Council will hold a briefing on Capitol Hill called “The Link Between Clean Water and Health.” The briefing will be on March 26 at 12:30 PM on Capitol Hill.

Creating Safe Drinking Water is Not Rocket Science

Although many of us know that water is a scarce resource in our world, few people know that more than 5,000 children under the age of 5 die each day due to lack of access to clean and safe drinking water. That’s nearly 2 million children each year. On World Water Day, we need to remember these children and their families.

Although I have worked in healthcare for more than 30 years, I didn’t know the depth of the crisis of poor sanitation and dangerous water. I was shocked at these statistics when I came to the US Coalition for Child Survival in 2006.

In 2005, I paid a visit to the Children’s Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghanistan has one of the worst infant, child and maternal mortality statistics in the developing world. Although improvements have been made in the last few years, there continues to be a crisis there. When I visited Children’s Hospital of Kabul, I found that each day nearly 1,000 children come to the clinic seeking help. The hospital, at that time, didn’t have clean water or working sanitation. Babies were sharing incubators and the food was horrible. Many children showed up due to malnutrition, dehydration and illnesses related to unsafe drinking water.

I saw so much pain in the faces of the children and families during my two weeks in Kabul.

Creating safe drinking water and making it accessible to children and families is not rocket science. We’re not waiting for any new inventions or technology. The cost is low and the results are truly life-saving. Access to clean water and sanitation can help prevent Diarrheal Disease, one of the leading causes of death among children under 5. Read our fact sheet and learn more about the causes, solutions and success stories. Download our fact sheet at here.

You can make a difference and the support of the ONE Campaign has already generated more than 200,000 letters to Congress to support the Global Child Survival Act. Our website has all the information and details on the causes and solutions to the global child survival crisis.

You can also learn more about safe drinking water here. Watch the flash program and get all the facts!

-Andrew Barrer, Executive Director, US Coalition for Child Survival

Sanitizing Water, Not Facts.

Yesterday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced 2008 the “Year of Sanitation” and urged the world to increase investment in providing clean water and sanitation throughout the world.

From a Tuesday Reuters article:

“Investing approximately $10 billion per year can halve the proportion of people without basic sanitation by 2015,” [the U.N. statement] said.

The U.N.’s drive for better sanitation will involve regional conferences and public campaigns to raise awareness and implement projects to improve sanitation in developing countries through public and private partnerships.

UK-based charity WaterAid said the absence of clean toilet facilities, access to safe water and efficient sanitation was directly related to the spread of diseases that killed 1.8 million children a year.

It estimated the economic cost of not investing in sanitation and clean water at $38 million a year resulting from infant deaths, lost work days and school absences due to disease.”

Read the full article here.

-Virginia Simmons