Advocates express aid concerns after G8 summit ends

After the conclusion of the G8 summit in Deauville, France, last week, development experts expressed concern that the G8's aid package, aimed at encouraging democracy mostly in North Africa, would result in less aid for the rest of the continent, Inter Press Service reports. Though NGO observers "hailed" efforts to foster democratic reforms in Africa, "many said that much more needs to be done for the poorest people on the continent, and that the G8's focus on the Arab world should not detract from the commitments made to Africa in the past" (McKenzie, 5/28).

In a separate article, IPS reports that some NGO leaders criticized the two-day summit because it did not result in many concrete commitments. "Oxfam called the summit the 'G8's YesNoVille' ... 'When it comes to giving basic, practical milestones, G8 leaders have once again fallen short. We need specifics,' said Samuel A. Worthington, president and CEO of InterAction, the biggest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs" (McKenzie, 5/27). "World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, and other NGOs say the G8 is falling behind on commitments to development, health and hunger," VOA News writes (DeCapua, 5/27).