As the G8 was busily consigning both Africa and the planet to the rubbish dump of history, and as NGOs sat with their heads in their hands, distraught over the terrible G8 communique, two reliable friends of Blair, Brown and Bush were putting on a stellar pro-G8 performance at the post-summit press conference at Gleneagles. Cue, Bob Geldof and Bono.
Reaction from Bono, leader singer of U2 and co-founder of DATA
(Debt AIDS Trade Africa)
"A mountain has been climbed only to reveal high peaks north of us. But for this moment, let's stop and look back at just how far we've come. The world around us has changed. What does $550 billion mean to the poorest of the poor, $25 billion of which is going to Africa? As examples, it means the financing is in place to halve deaths from malaria by 2010. Six hundred thousand people will be alive to remember this G8 in Gleneagles who would have lost their lives to a mosquito bite. Three thousand Africans -- mostly children -- die every day from malaria. Every country who delivers a credible plan to put their children in school will have the money to do so. If the words are folllowed through, 9 million people across the globe will have access to lifesaving AIDS drugs, which brings us to the most important lesson learnt over the past weeks. The world spoke, and the politicians listened. Now, if the world keeps an eye out, they will keep their promises. It is down to the hundreds of thousands -- indeed millions - who have assembled on this issue to make sure they don't just sign the cheque, but that they cash it. If an Irish rock star can quote Churchill, this is not the end of extreme poverty, but it is the beginning of the end,"
On the US:
"We always want more on the numbers but there's no questioning the man's [Bush] commitment to Africa. His money on malaria has been matched leaving this President in the enviable position of leading the charge against the world's most wanted killer diseases -- HIV and malaria. I wish he would have matched the Europeran challenge on overall assistance. He has a great idea for every country with a credible plan to put African children in school but by today's numbers, the Europeans are mostly paying for it."
Reaction from Bob Geldof, member of the Commission for Africa and creator of Live 8:
"It is only time that will decide whether this summit is historic or not. What is true is that never before have so many people forced a change in policy onto the global agenda, and that policy has been addressed. The beginning of the end of Make Poverty History starts now. The summit at Gleneagles is a qualified triumph. A great justice has been done. We are beginning to see the lives of the poor of Africa determined not by charity but by justice. It's been a long walk from Live Aid's $200 million 20 years ago to Live 8's $25 billion today. This has been without equivocation the greatest G8 summit there has ever been for Africa. Today gives Africa the opportunity of beginning to end poverty over the next 10 years. We need Live 8's 3 billion people to make sure it gets done."
(Debt AIDS Trade Africa)
"A mountain has been climbed only to reveal high peaks north of us. But for this moment, let's stop and look back at just how far we've come. The world around us has changed. What does $550 billion mean to the poorest of the poor, $25 billion of which is going to Africa? As examples, it means the financing is in place to halve deaths from malaria by 2010. Six hundred thousand people will be alive to remember this G8 in Gleneagles who would have lost their lives to a mosquito bite. Three thousand Africans -- mostly children -- die every day from malaria. Every country who delivers a credible plan to put their children in school will have the money to do so. If the words are folllowed through, 9 million people across the globe will have access to lifesaving AIDS drugs, which brings us to the most important lesson learnt over the past weeks. The world spoke, and the politicians listened. Now, if the world keeps an eye out, they will keep their promises. It is down to the hundreds of thousands -- indeed millions - who have assembled on this issue to make sure they don't just sign the cheque, but that they cash it. If an Irish rock star can quote Churchill, this is not the end of extreme poverty, but it is the beginning of the end,"
On the US:
"We always want more on the numbers but there's no questioning the man's [Bush] commitment to Africa. His money on malaria has been matched leaving this President in the enviable position of leading the charge against the world's most wanted killer diseases -- HIV and malaria. I wish he would have matched the Europeran challenge on overall assistance. He has a great idea for every country with a credible plan to put African children in school but by today's numbers, the Europeans are mostly paying for it."
Reaction from Bob Geldof, member of the Commission for Africa and creator of Live 8:
"It is only time that will decide whether this summit is historic or not. What is true is that never before have so many people forced a change in policy onto the global agenda, and that policy has been addressed. The beginning of the end of Make Poverty History starts now. The summit at Gleneagles is a qualified triumph. A great justice has been done. We are beginning to see the lives of the poor of Africa determined not by charity but by justice. It's been a long walk from Live Aid's $200 million 20 years ago to Live 8's $25 billion today. This has been without equivocation the greatest G8 summit there has ever been for Africa. Today gives Africa the opportunity of beginning to end poverty over the next 10 years. We need Live 8's 3 billion people to make sure it gets done."
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