G8 report whitewashes aid promise shortfalls

In response to the Deauville Accountability Report released today by the G8, Jamie Drummond, Executive Director of ONE, comments:

"The G8 accountability report was meant to ensure promises made were tracked and measured. Instead, the report released by the G8 attempts to whitewash the shortfalls.

"The G8 claims to be just $1bn a year short of the annual aid target set at the 2005 Gleneagles summit.  According to the globally accepted OECD methodology, this is not the case. The G8 are still over $18bn short.

"On top of this the reporting of progress on agriculture and maternal and child health promises is underwhelming.  It amounts to little more than a weak account of the current state of affairs and has no clear explanation for the lack of progress on these commitments.

"Our recently published DATA report which tracks the 2005 promises shows a more accurate picture.  Some countries including the UK and US are doing well to meet their promises. However Italy, France and Germany are failing to meet their targets.

"We cannot allow countries who are breaking promises to the world's poor to hide behind misleading figures. When the G8 leaders gather in France next week they must acknowledge that accountability is more than just a PR exercise."

Notes to editors

• For further information please contact Katherine Sladden, Media Manager, ONE, +44 7584 470 644 /  +44 20 7434 7554, Katherine.sladden@one.org
• The difference between the OECD DAC figures and the Deauville Accountability Report arises because the G8 has failed to take inflation into account. According to OECD DAC "analyses of trends in aid over longer periods should be based on constant $ so as to take account of inflation and exchange rate variations."
• The Deauville Accountability Report -  G8 Commitments on Health and Food Security: State of Delivery and Results is available to read here.
• ONE's DATA Report 2011 is available to read here. 
• ONE is a campaign and advocacy organisation backed by more than two million members worldwide dedicated to combating extreme poverty and disease, especially in Africa. We have campaigned for donor countries to contribute their fair share to the Global Fund and other multi-lateral funds, for promises on aid to be kept, for debt relief and we also lobby for good governance and accountability. For more information go to www.one.org/about and follow us on twitter