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See also: Annex: Summary of G8 Africa Personal Representatives' Joint Progress Report
on the G8 Africa Partnership [HTML] [PDF]
Driven by political and economic reforms, growth in many African countries is accelerating and thus helping to tackle the pressing challenges the continent still faces. It should, however, be stressed that despite this trend in economic growth, a vigorous impetus seems necessary to ensure that Africa will meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
2. Today we underline once again our strong interest in a stable, democratic, and prosperous Africa. Since the late 1990s, the G8 Summits have given Africa a high priority. We are continuing to work in partnership with Africa, and we welcome the critical role of African leadership in the reform process. At the same time, we stress our firm resolve to implement the commitments on development made, in particular, in Gleneagles. These include the historic multilateral debt relief of up to US$ 60 billion, the implementation of which is now well underway. They also include increasing, compared to 2004, with other donors, ODA to Africa by US$ 25 billion a year by 2010. The OECD/DAC estimates the global increase of ODA by 2010 at around US$ 50 billion a year. Our Africa Progress Report provides a regular opportunity to update on G8 support to Africa's development, including on meeting our ODA commitments.
3. We also affirm the role emerging economies can play in the development of Africa and encourage their engagement as responsible stakeholders in the international system.
4. We have agreed on a further set of measures to promote sustainable development in Africa. We will focus on promoting growth and investments in order to combat poverty and hunger, to foster peace and security, good governance and the strengthening of health systems, and to assist the fight against infectious diseases. We also recognize that the impacts of climate change in combination with other stresses present increased risks to sustainable development in Africa. To tackle these challenges, we are firmly determined to support a vibrant Africa through further strengthening our concerted efforts, as well as respective ones that are partly demonstrated by the African Partnership Forum, 24th Conference of African and French Heads of States in February, the EU-Africa Summit to be held this December, and the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) of next spring. All these efforts, involving relevant stakeholders as appropriate, will contribute to a seamless process leading to the G8 Summit of 2008 in Japan.
5. Good governance in Africa is vital to peace, stability, sustainable development and growth. Without good governance, all other reforms will have limited impacts. In the past few years, the AU and its program New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) have provided important reform impetus with a view to improving governance in Africa. The G8, with its Africa Action Plan, have provided a strategic framework for partnership based cooperation and will continue to support good governance throughout the African continent. Good governance is an important basis for our cooperation. Good governance in all its dimensions (political, economic, social, cultural, environmental) and at all levels (from local to global) deserves recognition. It is the most important assurance that development cooperation goes to its intended purpose of fighting hunger, poverty or disease. Respect for ownership, dialogue between partners and incentives for reforms are the main principles of our common approach. The following are all areas of focus for G8 efforts in supporting good governance on the continent.
6. Through the African Peer Review Mechanism, African countries voluntarily take a critical look at their development challenges so as to identify solutions and appropriate action. However, the APRM can serve as an effective tool only if its results are recognized and implemented. The G8 will encourage more African states to join the APRM and support efforts to accelerate progress in the APRM and the implementation of necessary reforms.
7. The G8 will support the processing of lessons learned so as to help facilitate even swifter and more effective implementation of the reviews. In that regard, the G8 will enhance the dialogue with our African partners to facilitate a coordinated support effort that respects full African ownership.
8. The G8 reaffirm their commitments to actively support countries that implement sound policies consistent with the recommendations of the APRM. We will support these countries in implementing their national Plans of Action to make progress in achieving the MDGs by 2015. Consequently, we commit ourselves and encourage others to give priority attention to the results of the reviews in their own strategies for bilateral and regional cooperation.
9. Competent, transparent, and accountable public financial management is a central element of a functioning democracy, whereas weaknesses in this field restrict sustainable development, investment, and economic growth. Transparency, participation, and accountability that come from an empowered citizenry are the strongest antidotes to corruption.
10. In order to address constraints, the G8 "Action Plan for Good Financial Governance in Africa" developed together with African partners and endorsed at the Pre-Summit of Finance Ministers will support the promotion of good financial governance, including capacity development, working closely with the International Financial Institutions' (IFIs') ongoing initiatives. We will assist African countries that are taking credible action against corruption and increasing transparency and accountability. In the Action Plan we strongly support efforts to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of public finance. We welcome integrated and harmonized approaches, such as the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Program (PEFA) to the assessment and reform of public financial governance to achieve transparent planning and implementation of public expenditure in line with political priorities that reflect populations' expectations and requirements.
11. We will also continue to strengthen efforts such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) as appropriate to enhance good financial governance on the revenue side. In this context, we support African states in their efforts to increase the transparency and predictability of expenditure flows and encourage more African participation in EITI. Transparency principles could also be extended to other sectors, where appropriate.
12. African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are the key drivers of economic and political integration and contribute to a better integration of African countries into the world trading system. The institutional architecture to implement regional programs is still evolving as are the capacities of the individual organizations. The role of the African Union (AU) remains essential to streamline the RECs and avoid duplication or overlapping in their activity. Infrastructure development in Africa is one of the key issues on the African agenda and RECs play a pivotal role in facilitating the preparation and implementation of regional infrastructure projects.
13. The G8 are committed to working closely together in support of regional integration and trade in Africa. In this context, we will intensify our efforts to better support regional integration in a consistent manner and build synergies in our activities.
14. We will support a Capacity Development Initiative for RECs in line with the principles of the Paris Declaration. Special emphasis should be placed on infrastructure development to ensure that the NEPAD Infrastructure Short-term Action Plan (STAP) can be implemented without further delay including through support to the NEPAD Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility. In the long term, RECs should be enabled to independently facilitate the implementation of continental infrastructure in collaboration with the AU and its member states. We will coordinate our support to REC capacity development. Resources should be demand-driven and only respond to well prepared and focused delivery plans.
15. The G8 reaffirm their support for the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA) to address infrastructure shortcomings so as to reduce the high cost of production and transport and assure their maintenance. The G8 invite other development partners to place their relationship with the ICA on a continuing basis, with a view to harmonizing support for infrastructure development.
16. G8 countries and other development partners have made substantial commitments to increase their aid efforts through a variety of means, including traditional development assistance, debt relief, and innovative financing mechanisms. Significant progress has been made, but we recognize that further action is needed to meet our previous commitments. Our partnership and dialogue with Africa will be based on a set of core principles:
17. Promoting good governance: In implementing development assistance we are committed to promoting universal values of: Respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, peace, democracy, good governance, gender equality, the rule of law, solidarity and justice as well as sustainable management of natural resources. We will actively assist countries which make efforts to govern justly, invest in their people, favor open and democratic debate on priorities and policies, and create an environment of economic opportunity. However, the diversity of country conditions in Africa requires flexibility in donor resource allocation criteria, types of assistance and results targeted.
18. Improving our response to fragile states: We will improve our response to post-conflict and fragile states, where a third of the world's poor live and will bring more timely and substantial assistance to these countries, with a view to preventing the emergence of failed states. We support the role played by the AU and the RECs. We will strengthen our efforts in conflict prevention and will support governance as well as the building of viable state institutions in order to help them fulfill a range of basic functions and meet the needs of their citizens. Immediate efforts to manage conflict, meet basic human needs, and mitigate environmental degradation, must be accompanied by significant improvements in governance that build local capacity and enable long-term growth.
19. Fostering economic opportunity: Achieving and sustaining the Millennium Development Goals, and moving beyond them, requires an environment that enables economic activity and encourages broad-based private sector-led growth. A robust private sector is vital for achieving growth. The broad participation of all stakeholders, including economic and social partners, in countries' development should be acknowledged and encouraged.
20. Following the Partnership Commitments of the Paris Declaration - Ownership, Alignment, Harmonization, Results-based Management and Accountability: We are working to implement the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and recognize that both donors and partner countries have steps to take to improve the impact of aid. We must all work to encourage country ownership, assure alignment of aid programs with country priorities, reduce transaction costs of aid and improve donor coordination. We need to continue enhancing efforts to untie aid pursuant to the 2001 OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) recommendation and disbursing aid in a timely and predictable fashion through partner country systems where possible.
21. The activities of emerging donors are broadening the options for growth and poverty reduction in Africa. We welcome new partners to join in the consultations and in ongoing efforts in harmonization and coordinated support in the light of the experience made by the DAC. Fora like the African Partnership Forum (APF) and the DAC could provide a good platform for the involvement of new actors. We strongly encourage all donors to improve transparency of their aid and to follow internationally shared principles. To this end, we invite them to adhere to the Paris Declaration as donors and to take account of debt sustainability issues in all their lending practices and share fully information on their lending to low-income countries (as envisaged by the Charter of Responsible Lending endorsed by the G8 Finance Ministers). We encourage the use of the debt sustainability framework by all borrowers and creditors in their decisions.
22. We need to support sound development strategies with appropriately targeted aid, to ensure that it achieves the greatest possible effect, particularly in poverty eradication. We therefore continue to work with African countries to establish clear objectives, result-based implementation plans, benchmarks for measuring and effective monitoring and evaluation systems to ensure transparent and accountable results from development programs.
23. Africa's current growth performance, reaching an average growth rate of almost 6 percent, is outperforming the global average and has started to reduce poverty in several countries. Growth is driven by improvements in governance, the business climate, and macroeconomic stability in many countries, as well as by strong global demand for Africa's natural resources.
24. The challenge to be met by African countries, policy makers, and business is to deepen, broaden, and sustain shared growth in order to achieve the MDGs. It requires strong political will and institutional capacity to maintain the momentum for democratic and fiscal reforms, streamlining of bureaucratic procedures, as well as for strengthening trade capacity. An improved business climate can also contribute to more sustainable growth based on private investments that enhance job creation and economic diversification.
25. Trade is a key engine of growth for Africa. The G8 will further concentrate on trade capacity building assistance and support the recommendations of the WTO's Aid for Trade Task Force to improve quality and monitor delivery of the commitments on Aid for Trade. The G8 will assist countries' efforts to integrate trade into their growth and poverty reduction strategies. As agreed in Hong Kong at the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference, we are fully committed to provide duty-free and quota-free market access for products originating from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to achieve substantial improvements in market access. We will examine the merits of existing preference schemes in order to achieve further improvements and we urge other developed and emerging economies to do the same.
26. The G8 will also provide assistance to help Africa increase its capacity to trade:
27. ODA helps the poorest countries to finance their basic needs in terms of infrastructure and human development. Beyond ODA, for the private sector to flourish and to create more and better jobs, the institutional and legal environment for a democratic and stable economy and society needs to be in place. Necessary ingredients include: the rule of law, an effective public administration; an adequate infrastructure and functioning financial and capital markets; action to guarantee competition and property rights; and an independent judiciary that is free from corruption. The G8 will support African countries in their efforts to remove the obstacles hampering more investment and to reduce the cost of doing business. A sound investment climate will increase the effectiveness of risk mitigation instruments.
28. The G8 will support national and regional efforts to improve the investment climate by means of regulatory and administrative reform (including the implementation of national APRM recommendations). We will individually and collectively continue to support initiatives which address the investment climate, such as the Investment Climate Facility (ICF), the Foreign Investment Advisory Service of the IFC or the NEPAD-OECD Africa Investment Initiative. The G8 also welcome the development of governance and business indicators to organize and measure performance across investment climate reform programs.
29. The G8 emphasize the importance of the political and economic empowerment of women as a contribution to sustainable growth and responsible government. We are promoting the World Bank's Gender Action Plan and welcome this and further initiatives supporting our African partners' efforts to foster the economic empowerment of women such as those taken by the United Nations.
30. The G8 will encourage enterprises, especially small and medium-sized, in our respective countries to step up investments that are sustainable, responsible and make a strong contribution to building local private sector capabilities to drive sustainable economic growth, transfer of technology and to make a lasting contribution to poverty reduction in Africa. We welcome the range of efforts to encourage African new business now underway. We will also work through bilateral and international financial institutions (IFIs) to intensify efforts to mobilize capital for private investments in Africa. To that end, in synergy with existing Africa business programs, the G8 presidency is planning a business leaders' campaign, including an investment conference aimed at improving Africa's image as a "continent of opportunity."
31. Countries with functioning financial markets grow faster and achieve lower poverty rates by helping to channel resources to their most productive use, reduce dependence on external financing, and facilitate risk management. Financial sector deficiencies such as the lack of long term financing in local currency, pose key obstacles that act to constrain African investors, including small scale and informal entrepreneurs and women.
32. We welcome the initiative "Partnership for Making Finance Work for Africa" and the work underway with the World Bank and the African Development Bank to establish it. It will provide a platform for African expertise, institutions, the private sector, and donor resources for solid financial sector capacities in governments and the private sector, and provide a forum for peer learning. This partnership should help us work together more effectively with a variety of new and existing initiatives such as:
33. Growth and investment patterns need to be shaped in a responsible manner; growth needs to be inclusive, allowing people to benefit in terms of employment and income; investment patterns should pay due attention to agreed social and ecological standards.
The G8 will encourage sustainable investment through African private sector networks, including support for the UN Global Compact and the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. The G8 will also strengthen their dialogue with emerging donors on international initiatives for responsible investment and financial transparency (such as EITI).
34. The G8 welcome the progress made on the elaboration of the Clean Energy Development and Investment Framework (CEDIF) and will work with the World Bank, the African Development Bank and other donors with a view to implementing the Energy Access Action Plan for Africa. We reaffirm our commitment made in Gleneagles to helping Africa strengthen its adaptive capacity on climate change and work with African countries in the context of their national development strategies.
35. To improve energy security in Africa, we will give particular attention to energy efficiency and the use of domestic renewable energy sources, including hydropower, where appropriate, and to give priority support to the rehabilitation of existing hydropower plants, and the development of small hydropower plants. We will further promote responsible sustainable bio-energy production, generated from renewable biomass resources, with a view to contributing to climate protection without jeopardizing food security and the environment.
36. To improve food security and sustainable use of natural resources, the G8 will support AU/NEPADs Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and promote policy reforms and investments in sustainable agriculture leading to higher productivity, better market access and reduced vulnerabilities in order to support the population in rural areas.
37. Education is a fundamental driver for national development and economic growth, providing a skilled labour force, and promoting equity, enterprise, and prosperity. Education also promotes good health, empowers girls and women, and leads to healthier families. We are committed to working with partner governments and the private sector to expand opportunities for disadvantaged girls and boys, including beyond the class rooms, to learn 21st century skills and increase their participation in society. We reaffirm that no country seriously committed to "Education for All" will be thwarted in their achievement of this goal by lack of resources.
38. The G8 reiterate their commitment to "Education for All" for sustainable development in Africa. As part of this commitment, in 2002 the major donors launched the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) to guide and accelerate the delivery of universal primary education in the world's poorest countries. This approach focuses on sustainable multi-year education plans, measurable results, fiduciary controls, and coordinated donor funding, and as such enjoys the G8's full support. The G8 will continue to work with partners and other donors to meet shortfalls in all FTI endorsed countries, estimated by the FTI Secretariat at around US$ 500 million for 2007. We will work together with other donors and recipient governments towards helping to fund long-term plans provided by countries to ensure every child gets to school, with attention to low income countries and fragile states furthest away from the 2015 target of universal primary completion. We will especially focus on high quality education and capacity development. This initiative helps bring rigor to programming as it is based upon a strong commitment by host governments and a sound combination of bilaterally and multilaterally funded programmes.
39. Peace and security are an absolute prerequisite for successful and sustainable development in Africa. The G8 commend the leadership and commitment demonstrated by the AU and its members with past and current African-led peace support operations. It is the aim of the G8 to continue to assist the African Union and sub-regional organizations in developing their capacity for promoting and maintaining lasting peace and stability on the continent, including through the prevention and resolution of conflict. We commend the AU Peace and Security Council on the progress made in completing the initial phase of the African Standby Forces (ASF) development. We further commend the AU on appointing the Panel of the Wise and adopting a framework for the Continental Early Warning System. Whilst reaffirming our resolution in helping to complete the building of the ASF, we will devote greater attention and efforts to conflict prevention and stabilization, reconstruction, reconciliation, and development in post-conflict countries.
40. The G8 continue their support for the African Peace and Security Architecture, consolidating projects to which both sides have made important contributions so far and moving ahead in new directions. We will endeavor - together with others - to identify, agree and support lasting solutions to matters such as sustainable financing and operational support, planning and management of peacekeeping missions, enhanced management of donors' support, as well as exit strategies to Africa-led peace-keeping operations. In this context, we welcome the AU proposal to create a rapid deployment capability. We acknowledge the needs of the AU Directorate for Peace and Security for infrastructure, equipment and enhanced staff resources, and will continue to provide financial and other support. We will continue and intensify at different levels our ongoing dialogue with the African Union. Together with other important donors, we will renew our efforts to improve the exchange of information concerning our respective plans and activities, and will strengthen the coordination and coherence of our endeavors.
41. Together with the UN and in accordance with our African partners, the G8 will assist the AU in a lessons-learned-data collection effort with assistance of the UN that aims at capturing the experiences of African-led peace-keeping operations for the process of building up the ASF. We welcome the efforts of the UN to assist the AU in its peace and security efforts and encourage dialogue and collaboration between the UN Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council.
42. The G8 are committed to strengthen the civilian, including police capabilities of the ASF. It is essential that the two strands of the ASF, the existing military and the to-be-created civilian one, will be as closely intertwined as possible, so that the standby force will be thoroughly equipped to confront the challenges of various conflict and post-conflict scenarios. At the same time we remain firmly committed to providing the necessary support to the ASF for its core military capabilities, which require increased investment by troop contributors and donors alike. We encourage the individual member states of the AU to continue, and if possible intensify, their involvement. In close coordination with the AU, we will help with initiatives such as:
43. We welcome new approaches and instruments to assist fragile states, such as the approach developed by the AU in its Policy Framework for Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD), the current work of the African Development Bank to develop a strategy for institutional support and capacity building as well as the OECD-DAC initiative "Implementation Framework for Security Sector Reform" (IF-SSR). At the same time, we encourage bilateral donors and multilateral institutions to adapt their instruments and conditionalities to the specificities of post-conflict and fragile states.
44. The AU and the African sub-regional organizations have identified the uncontrolled proliferation and excessive accumulation of small arms and light weapons as a matter of continental concern and have taken a number of initiatives. We welcome those efforts and will provide our support to such programs. We commit ourselves:
45. The illegal exploitation of natural resources is responsible for fuelling some armed conflicts in Africa. Therefore, good governance of natural resources, including initiatives to increased transparency and monitoring of trade flows, should be strengthened in resource-endowed countries that and those facing civil strife. The G8 commit themselves to working closely with African governments, the United Nations, the private sector, civil society, and other players to halt illegal resource exploitation and re-confirm their Kananaskis commitment to promote regional management of trans-boundary natural resources.
46. At the Gleneagles and St. Petersburg Summits, the G8 countries made substantial commitments to a vigorous response to the threat of infectious diseases - fulfillment of which is essential to development and the well-being of the world's population. Worldwide, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria claim more than six million lives every year, and the threat of these and other infectious diseases is particularly acute in Africa. About 63% of all people in the world infected with HIV live in Africa. 72% of Africans who need ARV-treatment are still being left behind. Of particular concern are also the continuously rising HIV/Aids infections of women and girls. Every year, malaria kills nearly one million people around the world. Around 90% of these deaths occur in Africa, mostly in young children. Additionally, tuberculosis kills 5000 people every day, mostly young adults in their most productive years. Diseases, often preventable and treatable, hold back many Africans from leading healthy and productive lives. In a number of African countries, average life expectancy is falling dramatically as a result of the AIDS pandemic. Apart from human suffering, these diseases, and HIV/AIDS in particular, are also causing massive impacts on the economic and social development of the individual countries concerned.
47. The G8 countries in coordination with African governments, multilateral institutions, international donor community as well as the private sector have undertaken significant efforts over the past years to combat these diseases on a sustainable basis aiming at reaching the MDG targets in the context of the fight against HIV/AIDS. Though visible progress has been achieved, we and others need to do more.
48. The G8 countries will scale up their efforts to contributing towards the goal of universal access to comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention programs, treatment and care and support by 2010 for all, and to developing and strengthening health systems so that health care, especially primary health care, can be provided on a sustainable and equitable basis in order to reduce illness and mortality, with particular attention paid to the needs of those most vulnerable to infection, including adolescent girls, women and children. We recognize that meeting this goal of universal access as well as realizing the Millennium Development Goals for fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis on a sustainable basis and strengthening of health systems will require substantial resources. We will continue our efforts towards these goals to provide at least a projected US$ 60 billion over the coming years, and invite other donors to contribute as well. These contributions will supplement efforts by African governments. We recognize their political commitment to pursue poverty reduction strategies that include strategies to foster access to health care.
49. We recognize that the level of demand to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) will increase substantially in the future as has been projected by the GFATM Board. In this regard, noting the conclusions of the April meeting of the GFATM Board, which estimated an additional demand approximately of US$ 6 billion by 2010 which might possibly reach US$ 8 billion, G8 members pledge to work with other donors to replenish the GFATM and to provide long-term predictable funding based on ambitious, but realistic demand-driven targets. A replenishment conference will be held in Germany in September 2007. G8 partners will work with other stakeholders so that Global Fund resources continue to be used in alignment with existing national priorities and processes.
50. Recognizing the growing feminization of the AIDS epidemic, the G8 in cooperation with partner governments support a gender-sensitive response by the GFATM, with the goal of ensuring that greater attention and appropriate resources are allocated by the Fund to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care that addresses the needs of women and girls. Coverage of prevention of mother to child transmission programs (PMTCT) currently stands at only 11%. In the overall context of scaling up towards the goal of universal access and strengthening of health systems we will contribute substantially
with other donors to work towards the goal of providing universal coverage of PMTCT programs by 2010. The cost to reach this target, as estimated by UNICEF, is US$ 1,5 billion. The G8 together with other donors will work towards meeting the needed resources for paediatric treatments in the context of universal access, at a cost of US$ 1,8 billion till 2010, estimated by UNICEF. We will also scale up efforts to reduce the gaps, in the area of maternal and child health care and voluntary family planning, an estimated US$ 1,5 billion.
51. By achieving the MDG on education, 700,000 new HIV-infections could be prevented every year. Education not only improves the understanding for infectious diseases but also improves women's and girls' economic prospects and empowers them. The G8 will take concrete steps to support education programs especially for girls, to promote knowledge about sexuality and reproductive health and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections. The G8 will support the nationwide inclusion of appropriate HIV/AIDS-related information and life-skills information in school curricula, in the context of nationally owned sector plans as well as prevention information with regard to malaria and other relevant health topics.
52. The G8 will emphasize the importance of programs to promote and protect human rights of women and girls as well as the prevention of sexual violence and coercion especially in the context of preventing HIV/AIDS infections. We welcome the commitment expressed by African partners aiming at promoting the rights and role of women and girls. We will also work to support additional concerted efforts to stop sexual exploitation and gender-based violence.
53. The G8 will take concrete steps to work toward improving the link between HIV/AIDS activities and sexual and reproductive health and voluntary family planning programs, to improve access to health care, including preventing mother-to-child transmission, and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by adopting a multisectoral approach and by fostering community involvement and participation. 54. We are committed to working toward further integration of efforts against TB and HIV/AIDS and the integration of DOTS-treatment and other comprehensive approaches necessary to control TB in our programs and activities in order to alleviate the burden of the co-pandemic. The G8 will make utmost efforts in cooperation with international organizations and partners to eradicate polio and will also work with others to close urgent funding shortfalls.
55. Malaria is one of the leading causes of death in children in Africa. But malaria can be prevented if additional efforts are made. As a priority, the G8 are committed to expand significantly their efforts to contributing to meet the Millennium Development Goal of having halted and begun to reverse the scourge of malaria. To this effect, we will work with African governments and donors to strengthen the effectiveness of their malaria control programs in Africa along the three main intervention lines of artemisinin combination therapy, effective case management, effective, tailored vector control strategies and bednets. We recognize the significant role and contribution of the Global Fund and other bilateral, multilateral and private partners of the international community, such as the World Bank Malaria Booster Program and the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative, which provide substantive funding towards reaching this goal. G8 members, in support of national malaria control programs, using existing and additional funds, will individually and collectively over the next few years work to enable the 30 highest malaria prevalence countries in Africa (contributing to at least 80 percent of the global malaria deaths) reach at least 85 percent coverage of the most vulnerable groups with effective prevention and treatment measures and achieve a 50 percent reduction in malaria related deaths. To accelerate implementation of the financial commitments we have undertaken at Gleneagles, we will work to reach this goal by mobilizing the private sector and its expertise and resources, enhancing public awareness, encouraging public-private partnerships, and urging non-G8 countries to do the same.
56. The G8 recognize the challenge surrounding access to medicines. We will support responding to those African countries that indicate that they require technical assistance and capacity building programmes for advancing their access to affordable, safe, effective and high quality generic and innovative medicines in a manner consistent with the WTO. The G8 reiterate their support for the work of WHO including its prequalification program and for regulatory authorities to help assure the safety, efficacy, and quality of pharmaceutical drugs, including those produced locally, in particular for second-line antiretroviral treatment and for the newly developed more effective treatment for malaria.
57. The G8 reaffirm their commitment to scaling up towards "universal access" to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment and care by 2010 and recognise the significant progress made by countries on target setting and planning, notably concerning enhanced availability of affordable antiretroviral treatment. Today one of the core challenges is for countries in Africa to continue to improve health systems in a comprehensive manner. We will therefore work with UNAIDS, WHO, WB and the GF to strengthen their efforts and work together with the African Union and African States, the innovative and generic pharmaceutical industry, private donors, civil society and other relevant stakeholders to help deliver next steps towards "universal access". Costed sustainable and evidence-based national AIDS plans will be key to delivering this goal. In particular we will work with:
We welcome the decisions of the UN General Assembly to give UNAIDS the mandate to report and monitor progress towards the goal of universal access and to assist country-processes by providing a regular assessment of the status of countries' integrated plans and their financing as part of the annual monitoring of the epidemic. We encourage African parliamentarians and civil societies to promote transparency and accountability with regard to those steps and support their implementation.
58. As an important step to scaling up towards the goal of universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support in Africa, G8 members, in support of national HIV/AIDS programs globally, individually and collectively over the next few years will aim to employ existing and additional programs to support life-saving anti-retroviral treatment through bilateral and multilateral efforts for approximately five million people, to prevent twenty-four million new infections, and to care for twenty-four million people, including ten million orphans and vulnerable children.
59. In view of the G8 countries contributions to achieving the health related international goals we agreed in St. Petersburg to review the progress in this regard, including our financial commitments, in fighting the three diseases HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, regularly. We will undertake this monitoring exercise for the first time this year under the Presidency's guidance. The report will inform our activities and commitments and we affirm that we will continue this close monitoring process regularly.
60. The G8 welcome innovative financing initiatives. We note such measures, taken on a voluntary basis, to mobilize additional resources for a long term access to affordable vaccines and treatments as well as for the development of vaccines, such as the GAVI, the International Drug Purchasing Facility - UNITAID, the International Finance Facility for Immunization, and the Advance Market Commitments (to support research on new vaccines).
61. We welcome previous commitments by African countries to increase the share of their budgets devoted to the health sector and look forward to continued progress in meeting these targets, and appeal to bilateral donors, to multilateral development banks (World Bank and the African Development Bank), the WHO and the global initiatives in the health sector to assist and align on country led processes in line with the agreements of the Paris Declaration of March 2005 and to provide targeted support to African health system development. In this context, the G8 will enhance coordination of bilateral and multilateral health partnerships with national health strategies (Scaling Up for Better Health process) and appeal to the World Bank and the WHO to support country driven harmonization processes in the health sector in cooperation with the African Development Bank and the African Union as well as other relevant international organizations.
62. We recognize that access to quality health care for poor and disadvantaged groups remains a critical challenge in many African countries. Based on the St. Petersburg declaration and noting the Paris conference in March 2007, the G8 support the establishment by African countries of sustainable financing of health systems. Enhancing this process, the G8 welcome the "Providing for Health" initiative as a means to work toward sustainable and equitable financing of health systems and improved access to quality health services, through linking national financing strategies with coordinated international support. The "Providing for Health" initiative will create an international forum for dialogue and collaboration on the financing of health systems in poor countries and on expanding initiatives of national and international donors to improve the efficiency of increasing national and international funding.
63. The shortfall in human resources undermines the provision of adequate health care in Africa. We will work with African states to address the different causes of this lack of human resource capacity within the health sector, including working conditions and salaries with the aim of recruiting, training and retaining additional health workers. We will also work with national governments as they endeavor to create an environment where its most capable citizens, including medical doctors and other healthcare workers, see a long-term future in their own countries. Furthermore, we will work with the Global Health Workforce Alliance, interested private parties, the OECD and the WHO to build the evidence base on health workforce management and international migration.
Source:Official G8 website of the Federal Government of Germany
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