“We recognise that aid alone will not eradicate poverty but 35 years ago, rich nations of the world committed 0.7% of their gross national income (GNI) to international development. Today only 5 OECD countries have met this obligation - not a single G8 country has managed to achieve this goal. 35 years is a long time to wait for less than 1%” said Kumi Naidoo.
Ahead of next week's Summit, GCAP will be calling on G8 leaders to extend the scope of June's debt deal. Whilst a small step in the right direction, the package announced by Finance Ministers, failed to grant debt cancellation to some of the world's poorest countries, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Haiti. “We want to see the same political will which led to Iraq's debt mountain being written off virtually overnight applied to the world's poorest countries. When compared to the Iraq debt deal, the deal offered by the G8 Finance Ministers is timid and lacking in courage, to put it politely. Gleneagles is the perfect occasion to redress this”, said Coumba Toure, speaking on behalf of the campaign.
GLOBAL HIGHLIGHTS:
The Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia will be wrapped in a gigantic white band, with the Australian coalition's slogan “Make Poverty History” across it.
In Mozambique, thousands will attend a music festival in the slums of Maputo to call for an end to poverty.
A large mosque in Indonesia will be wrapped in a giant white band.
Landmarks across Europe will be wrapped in white bands: in Rome, Italy, the Trevi Fountain will be draped in a huge white band. Iconic landmarks in Germany - Brandenburger Gate in the presence of Claudia Schiffer - and in Paris - the Trocadero buildings - will be wrapped white bands. In the UK, the famous St Paul's Cathedral will be wrapped in a massive white band.
In Sierra Leone, the famous cotton tree planted by freed slaves when the nation was founded will be draped in a white band alongside a street party in Freetown.
In the Philippines, a people's summit and concert will be followed by a rally of 10,000 people.
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSllC Ltd)")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF)")
