Africa Gleneagles Follow Up
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| Two years on from the UK Presidency of the G8
In 2006,to mark the first anniversary of Gleneagles, we published a short booklet:
‘G8
Gleneagles: One Year On’ that highlighted progress by the international community
in twelve areas – from aid and debt cancellation to fighting disease and
promoting business.
Also, in July 2006, under the Russian Presidency, G8 Leaders agreed the St
Petersburg
"Update Statement on Africa"
2005 saw an
unprecedented level of attention given to Africa. The UK, as President of the
G8, was a strong advocate for change leading up to and at the G8
Summit in Gleneagles in July, which
agreed a package of measures including commitments to double aid by 2010
– an extra US $50 billion globally, including $25 billion for Africa - and to
provide 100% debt cancellation for up to 38 Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC) countries worth US $50 billion.
At the
UN Summit in September
2005, 191 countries agreed unanimously to
accelerate progress towards the
Millennium Development Goals, recognising
the special needs of Africa. Many of the G8 Gleneagles’ commitments were given
global endorsement, including the objective to provide access to HIV and AIDS
treatment, care and prevention for all those who need it by 2010. The Summit
also agreed to establish a Peacebuilding Commission and the
Responsibility
to Protect. In December, the European Union launched a new
Strategic
Partnership with Africa.
The commitments made in 2005 represent a comprehensive Plan to tackle the
challenges faced by poor countries and poor people, particularly in Africa. The
main exception was trade where the
World
Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial in December 2005 did not
achieve as much as the Government had hoped.
The UK is working to make sure that a global deal is agreed by the end of 2006
that provides real benefits to developing countries.
This is a long-term agenda. Our aid volume commitments take us up to 2010,
and the Millennium Development Goals relate to 2015. So we will be working over the next ten
years to ensure delivery.
Also on this page:
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Tracking Progress Against Commitments
The challenge now is to ensure that pledges made in 2005 are fully
implemented. The Government is working closely with G8 and other developed
country governments, as well as our partners in developing countries, to achieve
this.
The Gleneagles
Implementation Plan sets out milestones the UK believes we need to meet in
2006 to stay on track for delivery of the whole package agreed last year. This
was first published in December 2005 and is updated regularly for Parliament.
The UK Government is determined that commitments made by G8 and other
Governments will be followed up. To help track progress, the Government has
published a number of reports. This includes:
- To coincide with the first anniversary of the launch of the
Commission
for Africa report (11 March 2005), the Government
 published
a report (392 kb) in March 2006 on what the UK has been doing to take
forward the Commission’s recommendations and to ensure G8 Gleneagles’
commitments are implemented;
- The Africa Partnership Forum, which was tasked by the G8 to monitor
implementation of their commitments, as well as those made by other donors
and African governments themselves. The UK is providing 20% of the funding
for a new Support Unit, which will help the Forum play this monitoring role
effectively.
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Examples of progress:
What has the UK been doing to take forward the Commission’s recommendations
and to ensure G8 Gleneagles’ commitments are implemented?
- More aid: The UK is on track to meet the UN target of 0.7% of
national income as aid (ODA) by 2013, two years ahead of the EU target
of 2015. UK aid has increased from £2.5 billion in 1997/98 to
£6.6 billion in 2005/06. We have exceeded our target of spending £1 billion
in Africa in 2005/06. By 2007/08 we will spend at least £1.25 billion;
- On debt: The G8’s proposal to cancel multilateral debts for
some of the poorest countries in the world has already been implemented for 21 countries,
17 in Africa. 100% debt cancellation from the International Monetary
Fund, the World Bank’s International Development Association and
the African Development Bank under the multilateral debt initiative
adopted at Gleneagles. The Paris Club has written off
$18bn of Nigeria’s outstanding debts. The UK alone wrote off £2.8
billion. This frees up an extra US $1 billion a year for poverty
reduction, which can be used to employ an extra 120,000 teachers and put
3.5 million children into school;
-
The
International Finance Facility for Immunisation, launched in
September 2005 by the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Norway,
alongside a grant from the Gates Foundation, will provide $4 billion for
vaccinations, aiming to prevent 5 million deaths from preventable
diseases by 2015, plus 5 million after that. First Bonds launched on 6
November and raised US$1 billion for immunisation through the Gavi
Alliance. Overall the UK has committed £1.38 billion to IFFIm.
- On trade: The
outcome of the World Trade Organisation Ministerial meeting in December
2005 was disappointing, but trade Ministers agreed: an end to cotton
export subsidies judged illegal by the WTO; an end to agriculture export
subsidies by 2013; and duty and Quota Free Access for at least 97% of
products from Least Developed Countries. DFID has announced that it will
treble its aid
to help boost poor countries’ capacity to trade to £100 million a
year by 2010, and the EU is aiming to increase aid for trade to €2
billion per year by 2010. The Doha Round did not conclude in 2006 as
planned but informal talks on the Round negotiations restarted in late
2006, with a view to finalising it in 2007.
- On AIDS and Health, US$ 3.7 billion has been committed to replenish the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) for 2006/07. The UK committed
£200 million – doubling its previous annual contribution level. UK has
pledged £1.5 billion for HIV and AIDS work between 2005 and 2008,
including £150 million for orphans and vulnerable children. For
World AIDS Day (1 Dec 2005), the EU issued a strong statement on prevention. The UK
committed an additional £27.5 million for AIDS prevention for the next 3
years (£20 million for International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, £7.5
million for Partnership for Microbiocides).
At the UN High Level meeting on HIV and AIDS (31 May – 2 June 2006),
Nations agreed to develop ambitious plans by 2008 and 2010 to increase
universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010;
and set a funding target of $20-23 billion annually for AIDS programmes
by 2010.
The number of people receiving AIDS treatment in low middle income
countries rose from 400,000 to 1.6 million. International Drug Purchase
facility (UNITAD), first Board meeting in October 2006 approved $35
million for paediatric Anti-retroviral treatment to reach up to 200,000
children suffering from AIDS over 2007/08. UNITAD will also provide $70
million to fund the scale up of second line treatment for 100,000 people
on 2007. First Advanced Market Commitment for new vaccines, launched in
February 2007. It will target new pneumococcal disease, bringing
potentially life saving vaccines more quickly to 100 million children
and preventing over 5 million deaths by end of 2007.
On
Tuberculosis: Launch of Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis at World
Economic Forum in January 2006. Aim is to halve deaths from TB by 2015.
- To promote economic growth, the
Infrastructure
Consortium for Africa was launched in October 2005 (UK commitment
$20m over 3 years), 3rd ICA meeting in January 2007 in Germany
reaffirmed need to meet the Commission for Africa target of an
additional $10 billion for Africa per year by 2010. China
participated for the first time. ICA has already helped accelerate funding decisions
on 10 regional projects, worth nearly $700 million. Overall, donor
funding for infrastructure is expected to increase from $4bn to around
$6bn a year by 2008;
The
Investment
Climate Facility was launched by African leaders in June 2006 to
make the continent a better place to do business. Funding has been
secured for the first phase with $30 million from the UK alongside
contributions from the Netherlands, Ireland, the World Bank’s
International Finance Corporation and EC, plus the private sector. The
Board has approved an initial suite of projects which include land
ownership, the rule of law and infrastructure;
- Humanitarian: The
Reformed
UN Central Emergency Response Fund for Humanitarian Aid was launched
9 March 2006, to provide UN humanitarian agencies with immediate access
to funds to start responding to crisis. 49 donors pledged a total of
$345 million for 2007. This was a significant increase on the
contribution for 2006 ($269m), demonstrating an increased international
commitment to predicable and effective humanitarian financing.
The UK is the largest contributor - total commitment of £164 million
over the next three years. The CERF has provided humanitarian assistance
to a number of countries, including Darfur, Afghanistan Niger and
Lebanon.
- Education for All High Level Meeting in Beijing (December
2005) agreed to doubling of current levels of aid to basic education,
removal of school fees, scaling up efforts to boost girls’ participation
and female literacy. A draft Joint Action Plan for achieving Education
For All (EFA) in 2015 was endorsed for further development by
UNESCO
The new Education Initiative at the Financing for Development Conference
in Nigeria in May, and the UK's pledge to provide £8.5 million for
Education over the next 10 years, stimulated 25 African countries to
begin work on long-term Education plans. Alongside this, the Education
Fast Track Initiative is being expanded. DFID will be providing £100m
over the next 2 years, in addition to the £50m announced last year. A
conference to be convened by the EU and World Bank in the Spring 2007
will encourage donors to make long-term commitments to fund these plans;
-
UN
Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) came into force on 14 December
2005. UK ratified February 2006 and is encouraging others to follow
suit. At the 1st conference of States Parties in December 2006,
Jordan reached agreement on effective and transparent mechanisms for
implementing and monitoring Convention, as well as for strengthening the
framework for international asset recovery. The African Peer Review Mechanism, under which African Governments
hold each other to account on political, economic and corporate
governance standards, is also making progress. 26 countries have signed
up, 3 countries - Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda have been peer reviewed and
reports have been published. A further two countries are expected to be
reviewed by the end of 2007.
Corruption also needs to be rooted out of business.
26 countries have signed up to implement the Extractive
Industries transparency Initiative (EITI) First Conference took take place
in
October 2006 in Oslo. Five countries reported against EITI criteria and
a further four countries are expected to do so by the end of March 2007.
- Peace and security: Peace and security: Donors,
including UK have increased support for the Africa Union’s peacekeeping
missions in Burundi and development of the African Standby Force, which
will boost Africa’s capacity to deploy effective peacekeeping missions
in the future. EU agreed to provide
€300 million over 3 years. G8 remains on track to train 75,000
peacekeepers worldwide by 2010, with sustained focus on Africa. The
African Union is making progress towards its objective of a fully
operational African Standby Force (ASF) by 2010. The ASF has around
15,000 troops pledged, Bridge Headquarters have been established and are
manned in three regions.
The UN Peacebuilding Commission was established last December 2005. Elections of all
31 members, including from the UK were held in May 2206. First country
meetings on Burundi and Sierra Leone took place in October 2006 and
agreed focus areas for both countries. Peace Building Fund launched in
October 2006: UK pledged £30 million over 3 years (2006-09);
- Tuberculosis: Launch of
Global
Plan to Stop Tuberculosis at World Economic Forum in January 2006.
Aim is to halve deaths from TB by 2015;
- Water: UK on track to meet our commitment to double annual
spend on water and sanitation in Africa to £95m by 2007/08. Other
donors, such as the World Bank, African Development Bank, France,
Germany and the Netherlands have committed to increase their support;
- Environment and Climate change: The UK and others has been
working with the World Bank to put together an Energy Investment
Framework to accelerate the adoption of technologies to enable cleaner,
more efficient energy production and use. This was discussed at the
World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings in April 2006 and the Clean Energy
Investment Framework progress report was approved at the Annual Meetings in September
2006. It is also scheduled for discussion again at the Spring Meetings
in 2007. Climate for Development in Africa Global Climate Observation
System (GSOC) programme was endorsed at the AU Summit in Ethiopia in
January 2007. The UK is planning to commit £5 million towards funding
phase 1 of this initiative.
Key dates for 2006
- April: High Level Education meeting " Keeping our promises on
Education", Brussels
- April: World Trade Organisation Doha Development Round: Estimated
timeline for resumption of full negotiations
- April: Anual OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) report
on global aid volumes expected..
- 14 - 15 April: IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings, Washington
- 14 - 15 May: General Affairs and External Relations Council,
Brussels Expected to review progress against EU aid volume targets.
- 22 - 23 May: African Partnership Forum, Berlin. Will focus on
climate change, gender, investment and peace and security.
- May: Education for All (EFA) Fast Track Initiatives (FTI)
Committee Meeting, Bonn.
- 6 - 7 June: Germany G8 Presidency, Heiligendamm, Germany - to
review progress two years on from the Gleneagles summit
- 1 - 3 July: AU Summit, Ghana
- September: IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings
- October: Africa Partnership Forum, Ghana
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Last updated: 27 April 2007
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