G8 breaks pledges on poverty, millions dying: Oxfam

Berlin, May 10: Industrialised nations have broken promises to alleviate poverty and provide better health and education, leading to the deaths of millions of people in poorer nations, Oxfam International said today.

Group of Eight (G8) nations had fallen far short of meeting a 50 billion dollars funding pledge made at a summit in Gleneagles, Scotland two years ago, said Oxfam, an independent group that works to fight poverty.

''In the past two years, overall progress has fallen far short of promises. The cost of this inaction is millions of lives lost due to poverty,'' Oxfam said in a report ahead of a meeting of G8 leaders in the German resort of Heiligendamm.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States at the June 6-8 summit, which will focus on climate change, African poverty and economic cooperation.

Oxfam said that promises made at the summit in Scotland to increase international aid by 50 billion dollars by 2010 could fall 30 billion dollars short if the current rate of donations continued.

Industrialised nations were also failing to provide the billions of dollars needed by poor countries to help them adapt to the challenges of climate change.

''They are providing just a few million and diverting these small amounts from existing aid budgets,'' the statement said.

Germany should use the summit to push for further debt cancellation for poor countries and more HIV/AIDS medication for women and children, Oxfam said.

Reuters>