Wealthy nations urged to double aid to Africa
The UK-led Commission for Africa today called upon wealthy nations to double their aid to Africa.
It said African leaders need to root out corruption and promote good governance and urged trade barriers against African producers be lifted and debts cancelled for the poorest states.
Unveiling the report, Prime Minister Tony Blair said there “should be nothing that stands in our way” in the effort to lift Africa out of poverty.
“There can be no excuse, no defence, no justification for the plight of millions of our fellow beings in Africa today. That is the simple message from the report published today,” he said.
“Africa can change for the better”, Mr Blair added, but the key issue was “do we have the will?”
The commission, set up by Mr Blair in February 2004, includes several African leaders and singer Bob Geldof, who today made an impassioned plea for rich countries to “get real” or be shamed forever.
The 400-page report calls for aid to be raised by £30 billion a year over ten years, with the increased funding going on health and education.
It also called for funding for university education to train the workers needed for developed economies.
Stressing that this progress was possible, Mr Blair cited Europe’s recovery after the world wars and the increasing prosperity enjoyed in Asia.
He said that while the report was “blissfully, sometimes painfully honest”, it was not a story of blame or gloom but optimism.
British aid agency ActionAid welcomed the commission’s report but said that it remains to be seen if rich countries take heed.
“The recommendations are an ambitious but realistic agenda for debt, aid, trade and HIV and AIDS,” a spokesman said.
“The first real test will be whether it is acted upon at the G8 leaders’ Gleneagles summit [in Scotland] in July.”
