HUNTSVILLE, ONTARIO (Reuters) – US and British leaders yesterday pressed other rich nations to live up to their aid promises as they seek new ways to help poorer nations even though their own budgets are squeezed.
The Group of Eight, meeting in Huntsville, Ontario, north of Toronto yesterday, are short by an estimated $18 billion on a 2005 pledge at a G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, to raise their combined aid by at least $50 billion by 2010.
Individually, the United States, Britain and Canada met their aid pledges. Italy failed to deliver any of its funding, while Germany, France and Japan delivered less aid than they promised, anti-poverty group ONE which monitors the aid, said.
“I think it is frustrating that world leaders sign up to things and then don’t deliver them and we have to make sure that happens,” British Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters. “We made promises back in Gleneagles. We should stick to those promises.”
The White House said in a statement President Barack Obama was urging transparency and accountability in the G8.
“The president believes that the credibility of the G8 rests on the willingness of its members to honor their commitments by reporting transparently on progress and identifying areas where additional effort is required,” the statement said.
The World Bank has warned that progress made so far in developing countries could be set back if aid levels declined further, pushing more people into poverty.
“We have to say today we have not met all the commitments,” said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso ahead of the G8 meeting. “If we want to be successful we’ll have to speed up our work,” he told reporters.
The G8’s meeting in the sleepy lakeside community provides a contrast to the hectic urban pace of Toronto, where other prickly economic issues await the larger Group of 20 summit today and tomorrow.
