G8 failing to make poverty history

-23/06/06

A year after G8 leaders promised to make p


G8 failing to make poverty history

-23/06/06

A year after G8 leaders promised to make poverty history, little progress has been made on trade Catholic campaigners have said.

G8 leaders met at Gleneagles one year ago facing calls from Make Poverty History campaigners for action on aid, debt, and trade to end poverty in the developing world.

Although some progress was made on aid and debt, Catholic aid agency CAFOD said that G8 leaders failed to come up with reforms on trade, the most crucial of the three issues in the long-term.

G8 leaders vowed to make trade work for development at World Trade Organisation but over the last year poorer countries have instead been squeezed out of talks and their demands dismissed.

With trade talks taking place next week in Geneva, CAFOD fears that the worldís most powerful trading blocks will cement an unfair deal for the worldís poor.

CAFOD Director Chris Bain said: ìUnder enormous pressure from Make Poverty History, the G8 leaders made some progress on aid and debt. Debt relief and increased aid resources are boosting education and health in some of the worldís poorest countries and lives have been saved.

ìBut what the G8 gave with one hand, they have taken away with the other. Developing countries must be allowed to trade their way out of poverty. Instead of being given that chance, the worldís richest countries have hijacked trade talks to protect their own interests, and condemned the worldís poor to further impoverishment.î

The package agreed at Gleneagles has seen Zambiaís debt burden drop from 7.1 billion US Dollars and will come down to 502 million US Dollars this year. The Zambian government will be saving 180 million US Dollars a year in debt service. Zambia has announced plans to recruit 4,000 new teachers and scrap healthcare fees.

But the future looks bleak for people living in rural Zambia, say campaigners, who make up over sixty percent of Zambiaís population. Proposals from Zambia and other African countries to safeguard their farmers against sudden surges of cheap agricultural import have faced fierce opposition at the WTO.

Over forty trade ministers are expected to meet at the WTO in Geneva next week to attempt to come to an agreement that would conclude the current round of trade talks.

Developing countries are facing aggressive demands from G8 countries to open their agricultural markets. At the same time their proposals to be able to protect their vulnerable producers are being fiercely resisted.

CAFOD Trade Analyst Matt Griffith said: ìWe have learned that poor countries can expect only token gains from trade talks but the EU and the US look like surpassing even these low expectations.î

ìThese talks threaten to expose the worldís poorest people to competition from the worldís largest and most subsidised producers.

ìRich countries are calling for the bridging of differences, but are expecting poor countries to wade through the water to meet them.

ìAsking for further sacrifices that rest entirely upon pain from the poorest is no way to conduct a development roundî


G8 failing to make poverty history

-23/06/06

A year after G8 leaders promised to make poverty history, little progress has been made on trade Catholic campaigners have said.

G8 leaders met at Gleneagles one year ago facing calls from Make Poverty History campaigners for action on aid, debt, and trade to end poverty in the developing world.

Although some progress was made on aid and debt, Catholic aid agency CAFOD said that G8 leaders failed to come up with reforms on trade, the most crucial of the three issues in the long-term.

G8 leaders vowed to make trade work for development at World Trade Organisation but over the last year poorer countries have instead been squeezed out of talks and their demands dismissed.

With trade talks taking place next week in Geneva, CAFOD fears that the worldís most powerful trading blocks will cement an unfair deal for the worldís poor.

CAFOD Director Chris Bain said: ìUnder enormous pressure from Make Poverty History, the G8 leaders made some progress on aid and debt. Debt relief and increased aid resources are boosting education and health in some of the worldís poorest countries and lives have been saved.

ìBut what the G8 gave with one hand, they have taken away with the other. Developing countries must be allowed to trade their way out of poverty. Instead of being given that chance, the worldís richest countries have hijacked trade talks to protect their own interests, and condemned the worldís poor to further impoverishment.î

The package agreed at Gleneagles has seen Zambiaís debt burden drop from 7.1 billion US Dollars and will come down to 502 million US Dollars this year. The Zambian government will be saving 180 million US Dollars a year in debt service. Zambia has announced plans to recruit 4,000 new teachers and scrap healthcare fees.

But the future looks bleak for people living in rural Zambia, say campaigners, who make up over sixty percent of Zambiaís population. Proposals from Zambia and other African countries to safeguard their farmers against sudden surges of cheap agricultural import have faced fierce opposition at the WTO.

Over forty trade ministers are expected to meet at the WTO in Geneva next week to attempt to come to an agreement that would conclude the current round of trade talks.

Developing countries are facing aggressive demands from G8 countries to open their agricultural markets. At the same time their proposals to be able to protect their vulnerable producers are being fiercely resisted.

CAFOD Trade Analyst Matt Griffith said: ìWe have learned that poor countries can expect only token gains from trade talks but the EU and the US look like surpassing even these low expectations.î

ìThese talks threaten to expose the worldís poorest people to competition from the worldís largest and most subsidised producers.

ìRich countries are calling for the bridging of differences, but are expecting poor countries to wade through the water to meet them.

ìAsking for further sacrifices that rest entirely upon pain from the poorest is no way to conduct a development roundî