$60,000,000,000 In Aid To Africa “Not Enough”

From those beneficents at Reuters:

G8’s $60 bln AIDS and Africa pledge criticized

Fri Jun 8, 2007

By Madeline Chambers and Gernot Heller

HEILIGENDAMM, Germany (Reuters) – World powers on Friday pledged $60 billion to fight AIDS and other diseases ravaging Africa but development campaigners complained the Group of Eight had offered little fresh cash for the poor.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, hosting G8 leaders and heads of five African states, trumpeted the agreement as a showpiece achievement of the three-day summit, along with Thursday’s deal to push for greenhouse gas emissions cuts.

“We are conscious of our obligations and want to fulfill the promises we made. And we will do that,” said Merkel. “We also gave a push to the fight against AIDS,” she told reporters.

Campaigners complain that rich nations have fallen behind on commitments made to double development aid at a summit in 2005 in Gleneagles, Scotland and were unimpressed with Friday’s deal, which restated those pledges.

G8 leaders said they would provide at least $60 billion to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, global diseases that have devastated African countries and their economies.

But the declaration set no specific timetable, saying the money would flow “over the coming years”. Neither did it break down individual countries’ contributions or spell out how much of the sum had been previously promised.

“I am exasperated,” Irish rock star and anti-poverty campaigner Bono told Reuters. “I think it is deliberately the language of obfuscation. It is deliberately misleading.” …

How much do condoms and DDT cost? Besides, doesn’t “development” cause global warming?

And who are these “campaigners” who are telling us what to do with our money?

And for that matter, where does the G8 get off deciding how to spend our tax dollars?

Shouldn’t they stick to regulating the weather?

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