L’AQUILA, Italy (July 8, 2009)—A WEAK and ambiguous G8 communiqué on African aid means millions more children in developing countries face illness and death from preventable causes.

Today’s communiqué from the G8 leaders contains neither acknowledgement they are off track on fulfilling their aid pledges, nor any concrete plans to get them back on track. In fact, there is now no way they can meet their 2005 promise to double aid for Africa by 2010.

“It’s taken the G8 only a few hours to condemn this summit to failure on aid for Africa,” said World Vision’s Director of Advocacy in Africa Sue Mbaya. “Even by the unremarkable standards of previous summits this is a low point. For Prime Minister Berlusconi as the G8 chair it shows a major failure of leadership.”

“It's encouraging that the G8 has agreed to publish an accountability framework. It doesn't, however, identify specific—and potentially grave—failures to meet individual aid commitments. There should be a serious discussion about what is needed beyond aid to tackle poverty. However, the ‘Whole of Country’ approach is not that.

“It’s also a huge blow that the G8 has sidestepped the urgent need to accelerate progress on reducing child and maternal mortality,” said Mbaya. “This year’s failure is particularly significant as the current economic crisis means up to 2.8 million more children could die by 2015.

“Any excuse from G8 leaders that aid is unaffordable in an economic downturn is unacceptable. The 2005 G8 pledge of an extra $50 billion by 2010 is just two per cent of the G20 stimulus package. It’s also in the G8’s interest for Africa to be more stable and prosperous.”

Over the 48 hours of this summit 50,000 children will die from preventable causes. At least 50 per cent of these will be in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the absence of urgent action by the international community this means more than nine million child deaths between now and the next G8 in Canada.

“We know that when the G8 chooses to act it can make a real impact on child deaths,” said Mbaya. “For example, since 2001 there has been a 90 per cent reduction in deaths from measles. This would not have been possible without the support of G8 countries.

“The world’s poorest children need the G8 leaders to be building on such successes, not undermining them.”

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Notes to Editors:

• Visit http://www.g8action.org/
• World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

For more information or to interview World Vision Canada President and CEO Dave Toycen live from Italy and/or Sue Mbaya, please contact: 

In L’Aquila:
Sharon Marshall
+1-416-616-9147
sharon_marshall@worldvision.ca

In Canada:
Tiffany Baggetta
905-565-6200 ext.2485
416-305-9612 (cell)
tiffany_baggetta@worldvision.ca