G8

The fight against famine continues

Feb 7th, 2012 1:07 PM UTC
By Adrian Lovett

“Famine outcomes no longer exist in southern Somalia”.  These eight words, at the start of a dry assessment released on Friday by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit in Nairobi, can hardly be considered a cause for celebration. For the last four months, a part of the world had been struck by famine – not just food shortage, or even extreme hunger, but the appalling conditions that meet the strict technical definition of a famine.  As ONE insisted, no f-word could be more obscene. Drought may be inevitable, but famine is not – and famine in the 21st century is an obscenity.

So it’s difficult to jump for joy at the news that this famine has come to an end – not least because millions of people in the Horn of Africa are still in desperate need.  In Somalia especially, where new concerns about access for humanitarian organisations are emerging, the famine has left people more vulnerable than ever. Like a determined boxer who hauls himself to his feet after taking a beating, the next punch could be the most devastating of all.

And yet, the fact remains that while the world took too long to act on early warnings of crisis in 2011, it did act. Millions of people, from ordinary citizens to policymakers, stepped forward. The global African diaspora demanded action. 400,000 people signed ONE’s petition urging leaders to do more. Leading politicians responded in the European Commission, the African Union, the UK, Sweden and Kenya. Millions of people contributed to the UN’s most successful humanitarian appeal and record public appeals in Britain, Germany and countless other countries. Critically, aid workers from Africa and across the world delivered relief in the most challenging of conditions, and continue to do so right now.  All these actions saved lives.

And now this belated but strong effort has been rewarded with a little good fortune. Somalia has enjoyed a better-than-expected harvest. That has pushed food prices down in local markets and there is, for now at least, room to breathe.

Now the obvious question: can we stop this happening again? If political promises made years ago had been kept in the first place, we could have avoided much of the terrible human cost of the last few months. They must be kept now – by African governments who promised to invest ten per cent of their money on agriculture, and by richer nations who made commitments at the G8.  And of course it isn’t just about money. More progress was made at last year’s Cannes G20 summit to reduce the volatility in global food prices that has caused havoc in the poorest families’ budgets. That progress needs to be built on urgently.

Together, we managed to force action on this famine over the last few months. Let’s keep that pressure up. We need to build a movement that can keep food and agriculture at the top of the agenda. The US, who host this year’s G8 summit, have a big leadership role.  The Horn of Africa’s wealthy neighbours in the Gulf are global players too, well able to do their part. And governments in Europe must keep their promises, starting with the British-led conference on Somalia later this month. Overcoming extreme hunger is not just a fight we must face.  It’s one we can win.

One last chance to Hurl Berl

Nov 11th, 2011 10:45 AM UTC
By David Cole

Since 2005 ONE has been monitoring promises made by the G8 countries to Africa. Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi is unique because he is the only leader to have consistently cut effective aid to Africa since he personally signed the G8 communiqué in 2005.

So last year we launched a campaign called Hurl Berl, which asked ONE members to literally throw Prime Minister Berlusconi out of the G8.

The game was intended to be light-hearted and satirical. But there is a serious message: when leaders make serious commitments they should follow up on them. ONE therefore welcomes Prime Minister Berlusconi’s decision to step aside and, we hope, be replaced by someone who will keep his or her promises to the world’s poorest.

Italy’s financial situation is serious, but as policy-makers are considering budget reforms, we are calling on members of the Italian Parliament not to balance the budget on the backs of the poor. As they look to replace Prime Minister Berlusconi, we are asking that they keep in mind that Italy should never again be associated with broken promises to the world’s poorest – their commitments should be associated with European leadership on aid.

In the meantime we ask you to Hurl Berl one last time and ask your friends to join you!

British PM speaks out on aid commitments

Jun 2nd, 2011 3:27 PM UTC
By Joseph Powell

Following last week’s G8 conference British Prime Minister Cameron spoke out strongly on the $19 billion gap between what the Group promised at Gleneagles in 2005 and what they delivered in 2010. The summit, hosted by France, produced their own accountability report on how the member countries were doing against the aid targets they set themselves. As this year’s DATA report shows they have only delivered 61% of the promised increases. However, this masks a wide disparity of performance between countries with, for example, Italy completely breaking their word to the world’s poorest people. The UK, on the other hand, can proudly claim to be the first G8 county to have budgeted to reach the 0.7% of Gross National Income target for overseas development assistance set by the United Nations over 40 years ago.

Cameron highlighted this in a passionate defence of why Britain has committed to keep its promises, even in tough economic times:

“I remember as a young politician watching the Gleneagles Summit and that Live 8 concert and thinking it was right that world leaders should have made those pledges so publically.  And I think when you make a promise like that to the poorest people in the world you should keep it.  And I’m proud of the fact that Britain is doing just that.  But the reality is that as a whole, the G8 has not.  The communiqué is actually very clear on this: Britain ensured that the accountability report published at this Summit shows clearly what each country has done and what they have not done to meet their aid commitments.  That means numbers in real terms allowing for inflation not just in cash terms; and it means highlighting – and we’ve done this in the communiqué – not hiding, highlighting the $19 billion – the $19 billion gap between what’s been expected and that’s been delivered.  Britain will not balance its books on the backs of the poorest.  We’ll be the first G8 country to his the 0.7% target by 2013.  Britain will keep its promises and I was tough in urging my counterparts to keep theirs.”

ONE welcomes his reiterating of the Gleneagles promises and Britain’s support in ensuring the G8 couldn’t pull off a shoddy accountancy trick in publishing figures which ignored inflation. Similarly Cameron was correct to highlight the vital pledging conference of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations later this month. ONE is looking for all donors to step up and help plug a funding deficit to save 4 million children’s lives by 2015.

Cameron also highlighted the broader role that aid has in any country’s 21st century foreign policy:

“If you’re not convinced that it’s right to vaccinate children against diarrhoea, to try and stop the preventable diseases, to try and save mothers in childbirth; if that doesn’t do it for you, what about this argument?  That these countries that are broken like Somalia, like Afghanistan – if we don’t invest in them before they get broken we end up with the problems; we end up paying the price of the terrorism, of the crime, of the mass migration, of the environmental devastation.  You know, if we’d put a fraction of what we’re spending now in Afghanistan on military equipment into that country as aid and development when it had a chance perhaps of finding its own future, wouldn’t that have been a better decision.”

He ended with a promise to continue making the case for smartly spent aid and deserves to be congratulated for his fine words in Deauville.

G8 add its support for transparency

May 31st, 2011 10:08 AM UTC
By Friederike Röder

Zitto Kabwe, who was one of the panelists at the launch of the DATA Report in Berlin, is a remarkable Tanzanian MP. On the one hand because of his age, after several years in parliament he is still the youngest MP, but also because he has succeeded in drawing Tanzanian and international public attention to dubious negotiating practices between his country and a Canadian company. In particular he criticized the fact that the Tanzanian parliament had not even had the possibility to see the contract in question. This has earned him a suspension from parliament and several alleged murder attempts.

Zitto should therefore be happy about the final G8 declaration last week: For the first time, the G8 supported legislative measures to guarantee the transparency of payments in the extractives’ sector. This is a crucial step towards greater transparency that will allow citizens to know the exact amount of revenues generated by their natural resources – revenues that should be at their disposal to help lift their communities out of poverty.

We must congratulate the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and US President Barack Obama for having included such a paragraph in the declaration. And not only for that, but also for the fact that they have started implementation. Thanks to last year’s Dodd-Frank legislation in the US, all extractive companies listed on the New York Stock exchange will soon be forced to lay open their payments. The European Commission is preparing a similar law and we look forward to maximum ambition from them later in the year.

Will this mean Zitto will no longer need to spend his time chasing down copies of contracts his country has concluded? This is not a given, unfortunately. The G8′s declaration is an important step, but other countries have to follow suit. First of all, the declaration keeps the door open for voluntary measures, which we know some countries in the G8 will seek to exploit.

Then, of course, the devil is in the details. In this case in the details of future legislation, in particular the one that the EU will discuss in October. It will have to ensure that no companies are exempt (for instance because of their small size) and that full country-by-country reporting is required, including project-level disclosure.

Much therefore remains to be done. So watch this space as ONE continues to campaign on this critical issue.

Balance of the G8: The intentions are there, but what about concrete action?

May 28th, 2011 2:15 PM UTC
By Sara Kianpour

The G8 Summit ended yesterday and here’s a quick summary of what we learned:

For the first time, freedom and democracy are headlining and ONE welcomes them. However, we are concerned that the final statements are primarily statements of good intent.

We would like first to refresh the G8′s memory regarding the $14 billion to help sub-Saharan Africa that is still missing compared to the G8′s promises in 2005.

Agriculture gets barely any attention and it has hardly been discussed. It is needless to recall the grand promises made in L’Aquila in 2008 at the height of the last food crisis: $20 billion to be disbursed by next year. Yet less than $5 billion have been provided so far.

On health issues, particularly vaccines, the G8 has until next month – when the international conference of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) will be held in London – to lead by example. The final declaration stressed the importance of GAVI and calls for its funding. We welcome this support. However, regarding the amounts of contributions, for the moment, they are neither seen nor heard.

Transparency is the real champion of the summit. For the first time the G8 supports legislation to ensure transparency in the extractive industries. This is a very important step. President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and US President Barack Obama deserve to be applauded on this issue. At ONE, we will follow closely the detail of future legislation to ensure that these efforts will not be wasted.

To conclude, despite some positive steps, Deauville failed to deliver for Africa. So will we be waiting for the 2012 G8 Summit in the US for concrete action?

Image courtesy of the G8

Dear G8 leaders, what if the 2.8 million children dying each year were yours?

May 28th, 2011 1:54 PM UTC
By Sara Kianpour

The Final Deauville Declaration has been made public. It is full of good intentions. Great. However, you must read between the lines to find (or not) concrete commitments, particularly on immunization, from the G8.

At ONE, we wonder if all these good intentions will change the face of the world?

Even if the G8 have expressed support for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and called for its funding, there are no firm commitments regarding the amounts to be allocated by rich countries.

It’s really time for world leaders to take concrete action. Otherwise, children under 5 years will continue to lose their lives due to preventable diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, 2 of the biggest killers of children around the world.

Dear leaders, if the 2.8 million children dying each year because of these diseases were yours, what would you do?

Today, for the very first time, we have two new vaccines that will help stop these “serial killers”. These vaccines are already available in developed countries, but their distribution in the developing world depends on what the international community is willing to pledge at the next international GAVI conference, to be held on June 13th in London.

We have already said it and we will keep saying so: dear world leaders, by funding these 2 proven vaccines, you will help saving the lives of 4 million children in 5 years. It’s time for you to lead by example.

Take action now and sign the petition

From the G8: A mixed record on the first day

May 27th, 2011 11:41 AM UTC
By Sara Kianpour

Sara Kianpour from our ONE France office reports live from the G8 in Deauville.

The first elements of the final communique were revealed in the press. The Arab spring and democracy in North Africa placed high on the agenda. At ONE, we are delighted. However, we believe it is essential that the G8 efforts affect the whole continent, particularly sub-Saharan Africa.

For the first time, the existence of a joint declaration by the G8 countries and Africa was announced. That said, this text does not mention in any case how the G8 is planning to keep its aid promises. A regrettable “omission” ?

Another important element is missing from the communique: while we are only few weeks away from the international conference of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), there were no concrete commitments regarding the amounts to be allocated by rich countries to vaccination. Yet, these countries have 4 million good reasons to do so … to help save the lives of 4 million children in 5 years!

Ending on a positive note, ONE welcomes the G8 commitment to fight against corruption through increased transparency in the extractive sector. Nicolas Sarkozy committed to this in January, and this morning, President Barroso signaled the European Commission’s explicit support for such a project.

Photo courtesy of the G8

The e-G8 ended, but Africa still not connected

May 26th, 2011 8:42 PM UTC
By Sara Kianpour

During two days, Paris was the world capital of the internet with e-G8 bringing together the web elite – from Eric Schmidt (Google) to Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) to Rupert Murdoch in Tuileries park. The objective: discuss the online economy and how it is changing.

And for the first time, a discussion about the internet has been put on the agenda before the G8 in Deauville, which started today.

ONE has welcomed the holding of such a meeting. We have all witnessed the key role the internet played, in particular for the recent revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East. The web is an effective means to enforce rule of law, to increase transparency and to exit poverty.

Improving internet access and mobile connectivity in developing countries can allow farmers to consult market prices on their mobile phones, pupils and teachers to do distance learning, or civil society to use social networks to fight against electoral fraud or corruption.

But unfortunately, these questions have been relegated to the back seat, giving way to the predominance of some usual preoccupations : economic growth (ours), protection of children (ours), copyright (ours), etc.

This meeting could have been a historic moment for the people from the developing world, but we are far from there!

Despite this, an interesting conclusion on governance merits attention: neither governments nor entrepreneurs nor civil society will be able to resolve the challenges of good governance on their own.

At ONE, we believe that we urgently need a new partnership: web companies, governments and civil society should commit to work hand-in-hand in order to fight extreme poverty.

We can only hope for the leaders of the world’s richest countries finally act: as long as the most marginalized are forgotten, the promise of the internet will be unfulfilled.

G8 accountability report: read the small print

May 20th, 2011 10:34 AM UTC
By Friederike Röder

Following the tradition started last year at the G8 in Canada, this year’s French presidency prepared an accountability report together with the other G8 countries, which outlines the state of delivery and results of the G8’s commitments on fighting extreme poverty.

Let’s start with the positives: it is commendable that the G8 continues with preparing such reports. Great promises are one thing, but keeping them and proving to have kept them is equally important. This is exactly what ONE has been saying for years (and showing the example for) with the DATA report.

It is also good to draw attention to the commitments on food security and maternal health, the focus of this year’s report. The report has the merit of establishing a baseline for the different commitments, reporting back on disbursements already made and giving a time line for outstanding disbursements.  So far, so good.  But…

There is a massive “but”. The G8 have found an artful way to embellish their performance. The report puts the spotlight on figures in today’s prices and tracks progress against them. It is a major issue, because current prices cannot be compared properly across years. This is why the OECD recommends using constant prices, prices that take into account changes in exchange rates and inflation from year to year and give an honest picture of the real efforts that were made. To put it simply $1 in 2010 doesn’t buy as much as $1 in 2005.

The result of tracking progress in current prices? Forgetting inflation suddenly makes the G8 look much better than it really is. Gleneagles’ targets are missed, but only by a “little” $1.27bn. Great success. Pat on the back. Except that taking inflation into account shows a very different picture. The G8 shortfall is in fact $19bn!

Careful readers will notice that the report also mentions the $19bn shortfall. Very careful readers, in fact. The figure is dropped in passing, immersed in a sea of data and tables all in current prices. Predictably, it is a blessing for countries that haven’t performed well and can conveniently quote the report to avoid facing their failure. Take Germany. The Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development issued a press release yesterday, which selectively quotes the report to give itself a pass, when Germany’s under performance is in reality costing $ 4bn to the developing world.

As ONE’s Executive Director, Jamie Drummond, said yesterday:

“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.”

This year’s G8 meeting on Africa (with the African Union and founding members of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development – NEPAD) will also examine the first accountability report prepared by the African side. We can only hope that Africa will have the courage to look shortfalls in the eyes.

G8 countries show mixed results in efforts to meet aid targets

May 16th, 2011 1:59 PM UTC
By Katie Martin

New analysis published by ONE today has given the final verdict on the aid promises that were made by world leaders at the G8 summit in Gleneagles in 2005. The DATA Report 2011, also sets out the steps that need to be taken to make a renewed push towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals. It suggests new innovative finance schemes and identifies other measures to support proven smart aid programmes that help the poorest people in the poorest nations build a path out of poverty.

Key points from the report are:

• Collectively the G7 delivered 61% of the increased aid they promised in 2005 to sub-Saharan Africa by 2010.
• The increases were largely a result of the UK making commendable progress towards its very ambitious target, and the US, Japan and Canada surpassing their relatively modest targets.
• Yet again Italy’s performance is condemnable, falling far short of its promises to the world’s poorest people.
• France and Germany have also failed to meet their ambitious targets.
• The failure of the G8 to keep their promises deprived the world’s poorest people of $7bn in financing for effective and life-changing programmes in 2010 alone.
• Despite the overall shortfall, there have been historic increases in aid to sub-Saharan Africa since 2000, and especially since 2005 and the promises of the Gleneagles G8 Summit which was a response to the global Make Poverty History campaign.
• Much of this smart aid went towards programmes that are delivering real results in sub-Saharan Africa. Together with African efforts, aid has helped to avert the deaths of 750,000 children from malaria; allowed 46.5 million children to enrol in school for the first time; provided 4 million Africans with anti-AIDS drugs; and helped boost agricultural productivity by 50% in 17 African countries.
• Emerging economies such as Brazil, India, China and Russia have been steadily increasing their aid to sub-Saharan Africa in recent years, along with increased trade and investment with African countries. However, because most of these new donors do not report their development assistance data to the DAC, the DATA Report does not compare them with traditional donors.

Launching the report Jamie Drummond, Executive Director of ONE, said:

“Unfortunately it comes as no surprise that Prime Minister Berlusconi has yet again abjectly failed to deliver on his promises – and we continue to call for Italy to be at least temporarily removed from the G8 for this reason. But it’s worrying that President Sarkozy and France are so far behind in a year when so much is expected of them as hosts of the G8 and G20, and at a time when African development, peace and democracy is at the top of the global agenda. It is also hugely disappointing that Germany – which has weathered the economic storm so well – has performed so badly on its development promises. These three nations must urgently get back on track by setting out clear timetables to meet the promises they made to give 0.7% of their national incomes as overseas aid by 2015. At the same time, non-European G8 countries like the US, Canada and Japan should set new, ambitious commitments for aid to sub-Saharan Africa.”

However, it is clear that even if G8 donors meet all their existing and future promises on aid, much more money needs to be invested in developing countries if we are to reach the Millennium Development Goals and pull millions of people out of poverty.

That is why the DATA Report outlines 6 options for the G8 and G20 to generate innovative financing for development. These range from financial sector levies to African diaspora bonds, and could each help to raise billions of dollars to help fund smart aid programmes.

In this time of global austerity, the DATA Report also looks at how donors have performed against targets to improve the effectiveness of aid to ensure that their investments have the biggest possible impact, although a thorough analysis of progress was not possible due to a lack of available data. However the report did note that some donors, notably the UK, US and Canada, are increasingly emphasizing results by setting clear targets for the outcomes they intend to achieve with their aid. When countries meet for the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in South Korea later this year they should set clear standards for monitoring these results. They should also renew their efforts to improve aid and budget transparency and meet their commitments from previous aid effectiveness forums in Paris and Accra.

Check out the report, including interactive datasets, at one.org/data