Africa: German Cabinet Announces Africa to Be  Focus of 2007 G8 Summit

ActionAid (London)

PRESS  RELEASE
October 18, 2006
Posted to the web October 18,  2006

ActionAid welcomes Angela Merkel's decision to prioritise Africa on  the G8 
agenda next year but calls on the German Chancellor to set her sights  higher 
than focusing on a handful of African countries.
In an announcement  tomorrow on its plans for the 2007 G8 summit, the German 
cabinet is expected to  propose that each G8 member would sign a partnership 
agreement with one African  country.  Germany's G8 proposal is reported to give 
preference to those  countries that have political reforms underway, 
democracies in place and are  investor-friendly.
"Across the 43 countries of Africa there are 200 million  people who are 
chronically malnourished, 24 million people affected by HIV/AIDS  and 22 million 
girls who have never been to primary school," said Anne Jellema,  Director of 
Policy for ActionAid.
"Partnerships with a few countries will  barely make a dent on these 
problems. Across the board, rich countries need to  drop the subsidies and tariffs 
that keep African farmers from making a living,  cancel the debt burden that 
continues to eat up government budgets, and keep  their promise to increase aid to 
0.7 per cent of Gross National Income," said  Jellema.
"The language of 'reform' has too often been used to impose policies  that 
the African people didn't choose and don't want, such as privatising  services 
and opening up markets for the benefit of G8 investors."
"If the G8  really cares about democracy in Africa, it will support genuine 
country-led  processes rather than pushing reforms designed in Washington or 
Bonn," Jellema  added.
Tomorrow's announcement follows an unprecedented campaign by the  Global Call 
to Action against Poverty (GCAP) this weekend.  Around the  globe, 23 million 
people 'stood up' to call for an end to unjust global trade  rules, the huge 
burden of debt, insufficient and ineffective aid and  self-interested economic 
policies imposed by rich countries that to create and  sustain poverty in 
developing countries.
The announcement from Germany will  reportedly emphasize that industrialized 
countries must consider the social  dimension of globalisation, stressing that 
investment in human capital and  resources will pay off in the long term, 
representing a critical pre-condition  for sustainable development.
African leaders will be invited for a special  economic summit ahead of the 
G8 in Heiligendamm in Germany next year.   Germany is due to take over the 
presidency of the G8 in 2007, which is currently  held by Russia.

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