Today in Berlin Bono and Bob Geldof held a press conference to call upon G8 nations to meet their commitments to double aid to Africa by 2010. So far the G8 countries, including Canada are falling far short. Today, 41% of Africans are living on less than one dollar a day.

A report released by the African advocacy organization DATA sounds the alarm that G8 countries are way off track in meeting their promises.

DATA Report 2007 analysis on effective aid: The UK and Japan are on track to meet their promises. The US and Canada are off track. Germany, France and Italy are dangerously off track. In a DATA press release issued today,

* The G8 needed to increase aid by $5.4 billion between 2004-2006 to be on track. They only increased by $2.3 billion during this period.
* Of that $2.3 billion, most of the increase came from the UK and Japan.
* To get back on track the G8 must increase by $6.24bn in 2007.

Civic society through the global mass mobilization efforts of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty now takes on a heightened importance leading up to the G8 meeting this June in Germany.

Clearly the G8 lacks the leadership to do the right think… and is waiting for civic society to hold it accountable for promises it has already made. In Canada your voice can be heard by joining Make Poverty History.