NEWS RELEASE – June 11, 2007
For Immediate Release

 G8 SUMMIT OFFERS MORE EMPTY RHETORIC, SAYS AID GROUP
G8 leaders accused of missing “historic opportunity” to tackle prevention
and treatment of HIV and AIDS in the developing world

World Vision, a leading global charity, has accused the G8 leaders of “tragically failing” in its response to the growing global HIV and AIDS crisis and of offering little more than “cold comfort” to the millions of men, women and children living with the virus.

Though pleased to hear the G8 reaffirming its Gleneagles commitments on HIV and AIDS, and to hear of more money on the table for this global pandemic, it accused the G8 governments of being ‘lukewarm’ in addressing this global threat.

“The G8 leaders have tragically failed those living with HIV and have missed an historic opportunity to stem the tidal wave of this virus that is threatening the developing world,” said World Vision’s HIV and AIDS specialist in Germany, Marwin Meier.

“The eight leading nations failed to provide the funds needed to meet the universal access to treatment targets and did not provide a clear plan for implementing its funding commitments. The rhetoric in the final communiqué is just that, rhetoric. If these governments fail to lay out the details of their strategies for success, then how can they hope to achieve their 2010 and 2015 targets?

“Despite high expectations, those countries with high rates of HIV infection received only cold comfort from the G8 leaders this year.”

World Vision expected the G8 to contribute $16 billion of the $23 billion, which UNAIDS estimates will be needed annually for AIDS by 2010. However, the  $60 billion promised by the G8, for an unspecified period, is to be spent not only on AIDS but also TB, malaria and the massive costs of strengthening Africa’s health systems. If the $60 billion is provided over five years it will amount to only $12 billion, far short of the needs of AIDS, let alone strengthening health systems.

One small bright spot in the communiqué was the G8’s inclusion of concrete figures for preventing mother-to-child transmission of the virus and for paediatric treatment.  Mr. Meier said: “Of all children born to HIV-positive mothers in developing nations, 34% -- more than one third  – develop HIV because their mothers have no access to medicine or information that could have prevented the child’s infection. If the monies pledged were actually delivered in a strategic way, the mother-to-child transmission could be reduced to a percentage similar to the western world’s level of 2%,” said Meier.

The G8 communiqué mentioned that the G8 would this year undertake a review of the progress they have made in fighting AIDS. Meier said: “This review must provide a concrete plan for implementing the G8 pledges - what each G8 government is planning to do each year to step up meet the commitments.

The G8 will meet again in twelve months time in Japan. The G8 leaders will be there again, but many of the world’s children will not be alive to see it unless the G8 work over the next year to meet their targets.”

See also Appendix: An open letter from Tim Costello, CEO of World Vision Australia, to the media on a better deal for Africa.

-- END --

For interviews or more information, please contact:

Phone: 6221-1040, Fax: 6221-1390
Mail: 10 Anson Road, #13-08 International Plaza, Singapore 079903
Website: www.worldvision.org.sg

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.

Serving more than 100 million poor and most vulnerable in 96 nations; benefiting 2.7 million children through child sponsorship.

By Tim Costello
Chief Executive
World Vision Australia

When I was in Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo, last month, I was struck down by malaria.

It is not unusual when you consider that Africa is still ravaged by diseases such as malaria. I had simply joined the ranks of the 300 million people who succumb to the disease each year.

What was unusual is that I was able to access simple medication at nearby Goma Hospital to help me recover. It is a medication that is still denied to most people across Africa; tens of thousands of Congolese children die each year because they can’t afford the treatment I had immediate access to.

A curse of geography means that many African countries have the malaria-carrying mosquito species and the weather conditions that allow it to thrive.

Up to 1.5 million people die every year from malaria, while millions of others are debilitated, costing the African continent an estimated US$12 billion in lost productivity and expense.  Every day 3000 people die from malaria in Africa, mainly children. It is the biggest killer of African children and it is so easily preventable with $4 mosquito nets and cheap medication.

My experience with malaria is a huge reminder of the challenges facing G8 leaders this June as they meet in Berlin. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is promising a ‘better deal for Africa’ by moving to boost private investment in the continent.

But the reality is that any effort to foster private investment in Africa stands little chance of success without the G8 keeping their promises made at Gleneagles in 2005.

Where promises have been met there has been progress – most African countries are recording strong economic growth, governance and regional cooperation is improving, millions more children are sleeping under anti-malarial bed nets at night, measles deaths have dropped dramatically, more children are going to school and many more people are receiving treatment for HIV and AIDS.

But based on current projections, it is clear that the internationally agreed upon aim of halting and reversing the spread of HIV, TB, Malaria and other major infectious diseases will not be achieved in Africa—and nor will the other Millennium Development Goals.

In 2005, G8 leaders committed to a goal of universal access to services for prevention, care and treatment of HIV as part of its $50 billion package for Africa. Yet a 20-country survey of World Vision’s own HIV and AIDS projects reveals that  two years on, increased access to Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) is being undermined by failing national health systems and poor food security.

Even where ART is available and free, there are not enough nurses, not enough doctors, not enough drugs and not enough food.  In rural Malawi more than 70 per cent of nursing positions were vacant.  Supply chains for key supplies like HIV test kits and antibiotics for opportunistic infections are hopelessly unreliable.

We have a global shortage of health professionals, and a global market for their services.  Government health services in developing nations just can’t compete.  We need to make it possible for people to stay in these roles where they are so desperately needed, and that’s going to require major investment.

Our research found doctors were despairing because they couldn’t provide follow-up to people who were starting ART.  In some cases staff at the local clinic level and community health workers have little understanding of HIV and no training in ART.  Inadequate follow-up means high rates of treatment failure, and unnecessary deaths. The study also found that the most common reasons for treatment failure were practical issues like transportation and access to food.

International Labor Organisation research shows that where the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate reaches 8% it cuts 1% off a country’s GDP per year. In 2005 10 African countries had prevalence rates of 8% or higher.

In many communities, there are just not enough workers left to tend the fields, so there’s not enough food to go around. Unlike most diseases, AIDS mainly incapacitates and kills people in the prime of their life: farm workers, teachers, nurses and parents.  Combined with unpredictable weather patterns due to climate change, this loss of a country’s most productive workers is leading to frequent, devastating food shortages.

Even taking into account recent large increases in funding it is clear there is likely to be a US$5 billion shortfall in 2007 in the funds needed to fight AIDS. This shortfall is likely to balloon out to $US26 billion for the four years to 2010.  This does not make economic sense when the cost benefit ratio of effective HIV prevention and care programs is around 40 to one.

Recently, US President George Bush announced a proposal to double his country’s support for HIV and AIDS responses. If his proposal proceeds through Congress the resources will go some way to redressing this imbalance, but this will not make the rest of the G8’s contributions any less important.

And this does not include funding for critical improvements in basic health systems. The best estimates for global aid required for basic health indicate that a total of US$40 billion per year in aid is currently required rising to around US$50 billion by 2010.

At Gleneagles in 2005 the G8 made a detailed list of commitments to Africa including the doubling of aid to US$50 billion per year by 2010, to forgive the multilateral debt of the highly indebted countries, to deliver support for African trade development and to provide support for efforts to beat AIDS and malaria. There was also a promise to provide universal AIDS treatment by 2010. Yet to date only the debt relief initiative is on track and the urgent aid that will save lives has not flowed from Gleneagles.   As the OECD has pointed out “aid will now have to increase very substantially in 2007 and 2008 if there is to be a realistic prospect of meeting 2010 targets”.

It is critical that as G8 leaders meet in Berlin they don’t forget their promises. Any moves to ‘create a better deal for Africa’ must incorporate the fulfillment of past pledges.

Africa’s challenges can be tackled and the situation is far from hopeless, but not if the history of broken pledges continue.