Around this time five years ago, representatives of the Group of Eight nations meeting in Scotland agreed it was time to make a serious collective commitment towards improving the lot of the world's poorer countries.

Together – with the exception of Russia – the heads of state pledged to increase their aid budget by $50 billion (€35 billion) by 2010, and earmarked half of the sum for African countries.

But as the deadline races ever closer, there is growing concern over the earnestness of those declarations of benevolence. A recent report published by the anti-poverty campaign organization, ONE, found that just one third of the promised increase had been delivered by the end of 2008.

Even so, Tobias Kahler, Director of ONE Germany, says there is still time to turn things around. “The goals set were ambitious,” he said “but not unrealistic.”

Testimony to that is the fact that two – Canada and Japan – of the seven countries in on the joint plan to tackle poverty, have already surpassed their, albeit modest, commitments.

“Some countries are keeping their promises,” Kahler said. “But there are others that will not.” That finger points to France and Italy, who are lagging so far behind that they are threatening the credibility of the whole group.

A question of political will

Italy, which currently holds the G-8 presidency, has failed to make good on its ambitious Gleneagles pledge to sub-Saharan Africa, and has instead announced such deep incisions to its development budget, that critics say it is not worthy of the job of summit host.

Indeed, Rome and Paris and to a lesser extent the U.S., Britain and Germany do have some catching up to do, but head of VENRO, the Association of German Development Non-Governmental Organizations, Heike Spielmans, agrees that they can still pull it off if they adopt the right attitude.

“It's a matter of political will,” Spielmans said. “We're told there isn't enough money to invest in development aid, but look how much can be mobilized to deal with the economic crisis.”

She says it is extremely frustrating for aid workers faced with the daily realities of the sick, the starving and the uneducated, to have to watch protectionist governments losing sight of their global responsibilities.

“The economic crisis has brought about a shift in priorities. It means countries are investing more in their domestic problems,” she said, adding that in actual fact it is the poor who have suffered most from the world's financial woes. “They have no social security to fall back on, so when investors pull out, they leave people in poverty.”

Working together

Spielmans is adamant that this is not the time for the world's strongest countries, countries such as those who form G-8, to abandon their less fortunate cousins. “The very least we can expect, is that they keep their promise.”

Yet Ulrike Metzger of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development says Berlin recognizes that this is the time for building upon, not dismantling relations with African countries.

“Africa has made great economic and political progress since 2000, and that momentum should not be broken,” she said, adding that it was up to the G-8 nations to send a signal to developing nations that they are reliable partners.

“It is important for us to reiterate our Gleneagles commitments at the summit in Italy. It is central to our credibility, crucial for the nurture of our partnership with Africa and an investment in the future.

Setting priorities

German Chancellor Angela Merkel went some way to outlining that future in a pre-summit speech this week. She said she saw the need for a planned 0.4 percent increase in aid funds both to help steady a continent shaken by the economic crisis and to pave the way for export-reliant Germany to reach new markets.

“If all the capital is pulled out, it is not only the African nations that will suffer, but we will lose export opportunities,” the Chancellor said.

And while everyone agrees that that makes economic sense, Heike Spielmans says the top priority has to be to “eradicate world hunger and grant everybody the chance to live in dignity.”

Both she and Tobias Kahler of the ONE campaign will be watching the summit closely and hoping it will inspire a renewed display of the spirit which unofficially bound the G8 to the Gleneagles commitment in the first place.

“It's time for them to stop moving at the pace of a tortoise and to come up with a rescue plan which enables them to meet the 2010 goals on target,” Kahler said.

Author: Tamsin Walker
Editor: Trinity Hartman