I know this is a bit late, but only just got around to posting it up on my Blog! it is MPH's comments on the recent G8 meeting.

For Immediate Release
18 July 2006

G8 leaders side-step poverty – next stop: Melbourne<.b>

The G8 Summit in Russia has ended with little progress in the fight against poverty with the
next opportunity to make inroads at the G20 in Melbourne in November.

Tim Costello, Make Poverty History co-chairman, said the pressure was now on the G20 meeting of finance ministers in Melbourne later this year to deliver and build upon the G8’s
Gleneagles commitments.

“The situation is urgent. The G8 leaders appear to be losing their momentum on development, but 50,000 people are losing their lives due to poverty every single day,” said
Mr Costello.

“The G8 leaders have agreed in Russia to review their commitments to Africa at the 2007 G8 Summit so the pressure is on to deliver real progress in the next twelve months, particularly in Melbourne.”

Last year 36 million people came together to ask the G8 to make poverty history with world leaders making significant promises to the world’s poorest people.

In the past year, the world has seen some progress and millions of lives saved or changed, but the G8 nations are not on track to deliver against all the pledges they made in
Gleneagles.

In failing to make up lost ground in Saint Petersburg, leaders have missed an opportunity to strengthen the battle against the kind of needless poverty which has cost the lives of millions of people.

"The November meeting of the G20 is not only a meeting of those with their hands on the levers of the world economy. It is an opportunity to breathe new life into the fight against poverty and we are pushing for it to be on top of the agenda," said Mr Costello.

The G20 was formed following the global financial crises of the late 90s. The members are the finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Also represented are the EU, the IMF and the World Bank.

(Source: http://www.makepovertyhistory.com.au/downloads/G8_leaders_side_step_poverty.pdf