April's fool

The DAC figures that have been released last week show that all G8 countries but UK and Germany are failing to deliver promised aid to poor countries in the year post the Gleneagles summit. It seems like a late April's fool story that after all the fuss around the 2005 summit rich countries can just get away with decreasing their aid but crying out loud on their commitment to and partnership with Africa.
In comparison to 2005, it is pretty calm in Germany with regard to the G8. Slowly it seems journalists are picking it up and government...? Well, Africa is on the agenda but what more can I say - Wiezoreck-Zeul is committed for sure. If the 1999 G8 summit in Cologne was about debt, 2007 will be about financing for HIV/AIDS, she said in a recent meeting with NGO representatives. It would be a great success for all of us if a universal funding plan for HIV/AIDS would become her legacy and the legacy of this year's summit. But more work and persuasion is needed directed at the Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck. He might be a Social Democrat on paper but we are yet awaiting a true indicator for an uptake of social issues in his agenda. In a video message to Steinbrueck Inviolata Mmbwavi, an HIV positive woman who coordinates NEPHAK (the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya) supports ActionAid effort to persuade the Finance Minister on this matter. As much as Inviolata shares Germany’s conviction that Africa’s future rests on revitalizing economic growth, she also knows from experience that this is unachievable unless access to treatment and support becomes a reality for the 25 million Africans living with HIV/AIDS.