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G8 and NEPAD After the delivery of the "Action Plan on Africa" by the G8 in Kananaskis, Canada, leaders of African countries were invited to the June 2003 G8 summit in Evian, France, to discuss the future of NEPAD. Topics such as debt relief, farm subsidies maintained by Western countries, access to medicines, drinking water shortage, sanitation, the fight against poverty and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) might have been on their agendas, but the summit hardly addressed these issues. While water and sanitation just about received a mention, governments from the South found themselves being hectored on the issue of corruption and good governance with warnings that development aid would be tied to audits and performance. Key issues in trade (such as relaxing the rules on pharmaceutical patents) were left in the hands of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The summit statement simply called for "further substantial opening of trade in all areas" with better market access for all WTO members, particularly poor countries, leaving the task of settling the disputes on agriculture, low-cost drugs for poor countries, liberalization of trade in services and so on to the Trade Ministers' meeting in Cancun. print    send   correct  ADD YOUR COMMENT >>  Documents and information   In-depth reports Detailed reports on key issues. New Partnership for African Development - NEPAD Promoted by African governments and supported by the G8, NEPAD has been largely criticized by civil society organizations.      Documents and information Africa gets little help from G8 Africa, trumpeted as a valued guest at the G8 summit of world leaders, ended up with plenty of promises but little, apart from some money on AIDS, to suggest real progress on tackling its myriad problems, claims the author. Funding for NEPAD: Africa still waiting for genuine 'partnership' The main donor countries have declared Africa's new development programme "a bold and clear-sighted vision". They have pledged to provide greater support to the continent -from aid and debt relief to trade and investment- so that the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) can have a better chance of success than previous efforts. But as promise after promise seems to fade under closer scrutiny, Africans are still wondering what tangible support they will ultimately receive. Implementation Report by Africa Personal Representatives to Leaders on the G8 African Action Plan Document of the G8 2003 Summit in Evian, France. Meeting of the G8 aid agencies on NEPAD Press conference given by the Minister Delegate for Cooperation and Francophony, Pierre-André Wiltzer at the 2003 Evian summit. France a Partner of NEPAD - An Action plan for Africa Document of the G8 2003 Summit in Evian, France (pdf format). G8 Action E-kit: NEPAD Source: Kairos Although NEPAD's goals are noble as stated and much of the analysis of the causes of Africa's problems is correct, the program contained in the NEPAD document contradicts these goals and its own analysis. Issue Performance Assessment. Africa Action Plan Source: G8 Information Centre, Toronto This document claims that "as a framework, it is too early to call the G8 Africa Action Plan a failure. While there is indeed much to be done in the implementation phase, the current Action Plan has provided well-needed direction and support for renewed G8 involvement in Africa". The G8 and African Renewal This symposium at the University of Alberta brought together delegates from Canadian and African non-governmental organizations, representatives of African governments, and international academics. The agenda included: African people’s needs, development priorities, the prospects for NEPAD, the role of civil society in Africa, as well as options and priorities for the G8. G8 Africa action plan Declaration of the G8 2002 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada. G8 Kananaskis: It’s the ‘Blame the Victim’ Summit Source: WDM The role of the G8 in creating the conditions for Africa’s crisis cannot be denied, claims the author. G8 and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Includes links to the most relevant sites with information on NEPAD. UN Secretary-General remarks on NEPAD at G8 Summit in Evian Following is the text of remarks by Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the Group of Eight-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Dinner in Evian, France, on 1 June 2003. Africa: What the G8 must deliver Source: WDM This report argues that the production of a G8 'Action Plan on Africa' represents a remarkable and historic opportunity for the leaders of the world's richest nations to turn their grand rhetoric into concrete change for poor people in Africa. It argues that the crucial test for the G8 is whether they can deliver on their own responsibilities, rather than blaming Africa for its poverty (pdf format). Fatal indifference: the G8, Africa, and global health Source: IDRC Ronald Labonte, Ted Schrecker, David Sanders, and Wilma Meeus This book provides a “report card” of commitments over the past three G8 summits (1999, 2000, and 2001) with a preliminary assessment of the most recent 2002 summit in Kananaskis, Canada. It presents findings from the G8 Research Centre at the University of Toronto (Canada), which has been tracking compliance on G8 commitments for a number of years. Based on research funded by IDRC, the book extends these assessments of compliance to an examination of how adequate G8 commitments are to global development needs.

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