London — Some G8 nations made encouraging progress last year towards fulfilling the commitments they made at the 2005 Gleneagles Summit to fight extreme poverty in Africa. But two G8 members – Italy and France – are performing so poorly they are threatening to cause the G8 as a whole to default, according to the 2009 DATA Report released today by global advocacy organisation, ONE.

Based on analysis of Official Development Assistance (ODA) figures for 2008, the G8 have only delivered one third of the additional assistance they promised to Africa by 2010, despite being two thirds of the way to the deadline. ONE’s projections show that by the end of 2009 they will have delivered about half of their 2010 promise, with Italy and France responsible for 80 per cent of the shortfall. This leaves just one year, 2010, for the G8 to make up the rest.
Investments delivered so far have produced strong returns in Africa, the Report says, including 34 million more children in school, an estimated three million people on life saving AIDS treatment and death rates from malaria more than halved in Rwanda, Ethiopia and Zambia.

These findings and others will be highlighted at a London press conference today by a panel including Bill Gates, co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Bob Geldof, anti-poverty activist and ONE adviser; Dr Françoise Ndayishimiye, Senior Gender Adviser, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria; Arunma Oteh, Vice President for Corporate Services, African Development Bank; and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, ONE’s International Patron. The event will be chaired by Jamie Drummond, ONE’s Executive Director.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: “A promise to the poor is particularly sacred. It is an act of grace and great leadership when all efforts are made to keep these pacts, and that is why those G8 countries who are leading the charge for the poorest, deserve such credit. But we who praise must be prepared to censure where it is clearly deserved. It saddens and angers me that great nations like Italy and France are going in the wrong direction. We must all campaign to encourage the forthcoming G8 meetings to do better and do what is right.”

Bill Gates, co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said: “The successes achieved so far in Africa against malaria and HIV/AIDS are fantastic; our foundation is committed to ensure they will continue in the years to come. I hope all G8 nations maintain their commitments and build on these successes, as we’ve seen in the UK and Germany. Building on existing investments in global health and development is essential so that we can help people in poor countries live healthier, more productive lives.”

ONE’s DATA Report tracks yearly progress against the G8’s 2005 commitment to reduce extreme poverty in Africa by doubling aid by 2010, improving aid quality, reducing Africa’s debt burden and helping to spur trade and investment, important drivers of growth on the continent. It makes projections of future policies and spending in the pipeline based on in-depth consultations with governments.

The Report also monitors specific flows to health, education, agriculture and water and sanitation. It finds that while health programmes have received the largest increases, and some G8 members have punched above their weight, the group as a whole are off track in all of these sectors.

The G8 can get back on track through 2009 and 2010, but only if they seize every opportunity, starting today at the G8 Development Ministers meeting in Rome, and tomorrow at the G8 Finance Ministers meeting in Lecce, as part of the build up to the G8 Summit in L’Aquila, July 8-10.

US, Canada, Japan meeting or beating commitments; UK and Germany pushing hard to meet more ambitious goals

The US, Canada and Japan are on track to meet or beat the relatively modest targets they set in Gleneagles, although recent cutbacks by Canada to specific African countries such as Malawi and Rwanda are a cause for concern, especially as Canada will hold the G8 Presidency in 2010. The UK and Germany are making serious progress against their own aid targets, which were among the most ambitious within the G8. The UK is the first G8 country to have set a clear and transparent timeline to reach the target of spending 0.7 per cent of national income on overseas assistance by 2013.

France: cutting aid, poised to fail against its commitment

Far from stepping up their assistance to Africa as promised, preliminary numbers show that France cut aid to Africa last year. Budget plans for the next two years – obtained in consultations with the French government – are not sufficient to remedy this year’s cuts. In 2008, France fell behind Germany for the first time in terms of the quantity of aid it is delivering to Africa.

Italy: worst performer in G8, credibility undermined on eve of Finance Ministers meeting

Italy’s performance is by far the worst among the G8. To date, Italy has delivered only three per cent of the aid increase it promised to Africa when Prime Minister Berlusconi signed the Gleneagles communiqué in 2005. Consultations with the Italian government reveal it is planning to cut, not increase, assistance in the future. The Italian record calls into question Italy’s credibility as this year’s G8 President.

Bob Geldof said: “Poor,sad Italy. That their economy is in such a disastrous meltdown condition, they must steal from the poor, rob the ill and snatch education from the minds of the young not only beggars the imagination but must also surely beggar the soul of that most beautiful country. Shame on you. Your government disgraces you.”

Smarter aid flows generating impressive results

The Report finds there has been some progress on the commitment to make the G8’s development assistance more effective and responsive to the needs of African countries. This has happened through the adoption of the Accra Agenda for Action on aid effectiveness agreed by governments in September 2008, and the International Aid Transparency Initiative and Publish What You Fund framework. This work needs to be urgently accelerated.

Importantly, the 2009 DATA Report also shows that properly targeted ‘smart aid’, working in tandem with effective African leadership, has delivered measurable results on the ground in many African countries. For more information and case studies from across Africa see www.one.org/smartaid.

Dr Françoise Ndayishimiye of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria said: “In recent years, countries in Africa, including my own, Burundi, have strongly benefited from an increase in aid flows. We and many other countries have put these to very good use, cutting infant mortality and getting AIDS medicines to millions who need them. In Burundi the incidence of malaria has been reduced very significantly. Through these investments in health, Africa is building the foundations for future development. We are providing living proof that when aid goes hand in hand with effective leadership it can achieve remarkable results.”

These advances are needed now more than ever as Africa faces new challenges from the global economic crisis and climate change. These crises are not of Africa’s making, but they threaten to further erode the important improvements that have been made on the continent. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that Africa’s economic growth in 2009 could shrink from a predicted 6.7 per cent to 1.7 per cent as a result of the global crisis.

The quality of governance in African countries is also a key ingredient for progress in eradicating poverty. In preparing this year’s DATA Report, ONE worked closely with Kofi Annan’s Africa Progress Panel (APP), which tracks the efforts by African governments. The APP report will be launched in Cape Town on June 10 and can be seen at www.africaprogresspanel.org.

G8 failing across the board on trade promises

ONE’s Report says that the G8 as a whole are failing to honour their commitment to “make trade work for Africa”, a vital plank of anti-poverty efforts. Failure to agree a Doha trade deal, and initiatives such as the European Union’s Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) have undermined potential progress. However, the Report finds the G8 have taken some modest steps towards supporting African efforts to harness more private investment.

Arunma Oteh of the African Development Bank said: “The global economic crisis is reversing Africa’s progress, progress earned through decades of social, economic and political reform. To sustain recent gains, Africa needs continued attention to good governance and trade, and needs to invest about US$120 billion a year including US$50 billion a year for infrastructure, the foundation for future growth. Promised smarter aid flows from the G8 can help us raise these resources to propel our progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and more.”

G8 delivering on debt cancellation, but recession risks new debt crisis

The G8 have made good progress on their commitments to cancel poor countries’ debts, but the global recession is threatening to spark a renewed developing country debt crisis. This can be averted only if the G8 and other donors keep their aid promises, and adopt a careful process or charter to manage new debts.

Renewed effort required for 2010 – and beyond
The G8 must now redouble efforts in 2009 – 2010 to get as close to their promises as possible. They must re-engage with all partners, above all African citizens, to support an African-owned plan for sustainable development. Next year the eyes of the world will be on Africa with the continent’s first ever soccer World Cup; it will be a critical year to forge a new plan to drive momentum through to 2015, the deadline for reaching the Millennium Development Goals.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: “African development must be driven by African citizens, from civil society, the private sector and democratically elected governments. We welcome international support from all sides in our struggle against poverty and injustice, but now we must also more firmly take the lead. I hope we can spark more efforts to consult African citizens on what they really want, and empower them to hold their leaders accountable and direct the international community in the best ways to help Africans beat poverty and fight the injustices of extreme poverty and climate change.”