G8 Africa Action Plan Highlights

G8 Africa Action Plan Highlights

What is the New Partnership for Africa's Development

The New Partnership for Africa's Development is first and foremost, a pledge by African Leaders to the people of Africa to consolidate democracy and sound economic management, and to promote peace, security and people-oriented development.

African Leaders have personally directed its creation and implementation, focusing on investment-driven economic growth and economic governance as the engine for poverty reduction, and on the importance of regional and sub-regional partnerships within Africa.

Why we are supporting this initiative

Half of Africa's population lives on less than US$1 per day, and alone among the continents, Africa is becoming poorer and poverty is on the rise. Alone among the continents, the average life-span in Africa is becoming shorter and is now 16 years less than in the next-lowest region and has dropped 3 years in the last 10. The rate of illiteracy for persons over 15 is 41 per cent, and Africa is the only region where school enrollment is declining at all level, and particularly among women and girls. While Africa accounts for 13% of the World's population, Africa's exports account for less than 1.6% of global trade, and that figure is falling. Africa currently attracts less than 1% of global investment, and is the only major region to see per capita investment and savings decline since 1970; indeed as much as 40% of Africa's own savings are not invested within the continent. Total net Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Africa has fallen from previous levels of US$17 billion to US$12 billion today.

African Leaders have emphasized good governance and human rights as necessary preconditions for Africa's recovery. They have formally undertaken to hold each other accountable for their individual and collective efforts to achieve NEPAD's economic, political, and social objectives.

The new "Enhanced Partnership" we are offering

We commit ourselves each to establishing enhanced partnerships with African countries that are committed to and implementing the NEPAD. We will match Africa's commitment by our own efforts to find peace in Africa, to boost expertise and capacity, to encourage trade and direct growth-oriented investment, and to provide more effective Official Development Assistance.

This will lead us to focus our efforts on countries that demonstrate a political and financial commitment to good governance and the rule of law, investing in their people, and pursuing policies that spur economic growth and alleviate poverty. Our partners will be selected on the basis of their commitment and the results they show.

G8 governments are committed to mobilize and energize global action, marshal resources and expertise, and provide impetus in support of NEPAD's objectives. Our Action Plan focuses on a limited number of priority areas where, collectively and individually, we can immediately add value. These areas are: 1) Peace and Security; 2) Political and Economic Governance; 3) Trade, Investment, Economic Growth and Sustainable Development; 4) Debt Relief; 5) Education and Information and Communications Technology (ICT); 6) Health and HIV/AIDS; 7) Agricultural Productivity; and 8) Water Resource Management.

What we will do

The G8 Africa Action Plan provides significant new initiatives in support of the New Partnership for Africa's Development. Highlights of the Action Plan include commitments to:

Resource mobilization

Allocate to Africa at least 50 per cent of G8 share of the US$12 billion per year in increased Official Development Assistance (ODA) that we pledged at Monterrey B which will mean at least US$6 billion per year in new resources that will go to Africa;

Increase the use of grants rather than loans for the poorest debt-vulnerable countries; and provide up to an additional $US1 billion to meet the projected shortfall in the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative;

Work towards the objective of duty free and quota free market access for all products originating from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including African LDCs;

Work towards enhancing market access — consistent with WTO requirements — for trade with African free trade areas or customs unions.

Peace and security

Immediately strengthen efforts to maintain and consolidate the peace in Angola and Sierra Leone;

Ensure that by 2010 African regional and sub-regional organizations are able to engage effectively to prevent and resolve violent conflict on the continent;

Develop a framework for regulating and making more transparent the activities of international arms brokers and traffickers, and help to eliminate the flow of illicit weapons to Africa;

Ensure better accountability and greater transparency with respect to those involved in the import or export of Africa's natural resources from areas of conflict.

Governance

Expand capacity-building programmes related to political governance in Africa, including support for African efforts to ensure that electoral processes are credible and transparent, that elections are conducted in a manner that is free and fair in accordance with NEPAD's commitment to uphold and respect "global standards of democracy";

Intensify international efforts to facilitate the freezing of illicitly acquired financial assets and the return of the proceeds of crimes;

Assist African countries in their efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in African countries.

Human resources

Significantly increase the support provided by our bilateral aid agencies to basic education for African countries with a strong policy and financial commitment to education;

Provide scholarships and other educational support for African girls and women;

Work with the pharmaceutical industry to make life-saving drugs more affordable in Africa, and with African countries and other stakeholders to ensure effective distribution — especially with respect to HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases;

Provide the resources needed to eliminate polio by 2005; and

Continue funding and support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and help Africa enhance its capacity to participate in and benefit from the Fund.

ENDS

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