St. Petersburg, Russia-Today, the leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) recommitted to the 2005 Gleneagles summit’s comprehensive plan to accelerate development and help save millions of lives in Africa and the world’s poorest countries, but have failed to set the concrete targets necessary to increase effective international assistance and help the world’s poorest countries fight poverty. On trade, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy leaves St. Petersburg with a clear mandate to secure a deal within a month, one that must stay true to the G8 2005 Gleneagles communiqué promise to “make trade work for Africa”.

In St. Petersburg, G8 leaders have missed an opportunity to set new markers, make new commitments and reiterate some key 2005 G8 targets. President Bush made historic promises on behalf of all Americans at last year’s G8 summit, agreeing to cancel crushing debts, increase effective international assistance and make trade fairer for the world’s poorest people. G8 leaders have made a slow start and must push even harder to make good on last year’s life-saving promises.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is one of the great success stories of the G8. It’s gone from an idea around the summit negotiating table five years ago in Genoa to an effort that’s now saving millions of lives around the world. The G8 communiqué supports the need for new funding for the Global Fund to help fight these three preventable and treatable diseases that take 6 million lives a year. Over 800,000 people are alive today in Africa because America is providing life-saving treatment through both the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and the President’s AIDS plan.

From basic education for all children to access to AIDS drugs for all who need them, in order for America to make good on our promises, Congress must now fully fund our life-saving pledges made to Africa and the world’s poorest countries. ONE’s efforts to keep America’s G8 promises will now return to Capitol Hill, where we will continue to ask Congress to fully fund the fight against global AIDS and extreme poverty. The ONE Campaign asks for an additional 1% of the U.S. federal budget for effective poverty-focused development assistance by 2010. The G8 commitments, if kept, bring us one step closer to reaching this goal.

President Bush requested a $2 billion increase for development assistance so that America could keep its promises on track. Currently, Congress is only going half the distance to help the world’s poorest nations. Both the House of Representatives and Senate cut $1 billion and $800 million respectively from the President’s request, putting America’s G8 pledges in jeopardy.

With sights now set on the 2007 G8 in Heiligendamm Germany, ONE will remain vigilant to ensure America’s G8 promises are made a reality for Africa and the world’s poorest people.

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ABOUT ONE: THE CAMPAIGN TO MAKE POVERTY HISTORY ONE (www.one.org) is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans – ONE by ONE – to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE is a coalition of over 2.3 million people and 80 of the nation’s leading relief, humanitarian and advocacy organizations. For more information, please visit: www.ONE.org