Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association - June 11, 2007
Ndungane was speaking at a media briefing of the African Monitor, an advocacy organisation of which he is the founder and president.
Ndungane said the G8 summit held in Heiligendamm, Germany, earlier this month had disappointing outcomes for Africa.
He said G8 summit leaders' promise this year to increase spending to combat HIV, tuberculosis and malaria to $60- billion was -- except for the United States-- the same amount to which they had already previously committed themselves.
Ndungane said the fight against these diseases was hampered by the fact no time frame was attached for when these funds would be disbursed.
"Without any concrete plan of action, this promise [for aid] is simply hot air," he said.
Ndungane said he was "puzzled" by how the G8 handled some climate-change issues, such as how a commitment to ensuring temperatures did not rise by more than two degrees Celsius was not adopted because the UUS objected.
"On the one hand, the US is prepared to spend billions ... on HIV in Africa and on the other they refuse to deal responsibly with climate change, which will also kill hundreds of African [men], women and children through droughts, floods and accelerated poverty," he said.
The developed world should deal with Africa with more consistently, Ndungane said.
He said the G8's failure to commit to fair trade and opening-market agreements "casts doubts in the mind about the seriousness of the G8 to contribute [effectively] to the development agenda in Africa".
He suggested "G8 leaders need to start subjecting themselves to peer review, where they account for why they are lagging behind in meeting the commitments they have made".
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