The Group of 8 – or “G8” as it is often called – is a group of the world’s richest and most powerful countries that gather annually to discuss a broad range of global economic and political issues. The governments who comprise the G8 include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Each year, the eight members take turns assuming the presidency of the group and hosting the annual summit.
In recent years, the G8’s annual summit has had tremendous implications for Africa’s poor. For example, in 2005, thanks to the millions of people around the world who demanded action against poverty, G8 leaders, at the Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, made a series of historic promises to Africa: more than doubling development assistance by 2010; making trade work for Africa; canceling 100% of multilateral debt for some of the poorest nations; supporting universal primary education; and getting as near as possible to universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS.
But the G8 do not always keep their promises – even to the world’s poor. In June 2007, Germany hosted the G8 summit in the Baltic resort town of Heiligendamm. Despite Africa being a focus of the Summit, in the end, leaders made little progress in demonstrating how they plan to meet their promises from 2005.
DATA works intensively with G8 governments to keep them accountable to their individual and collective promises. Every year, DATA publishes the DATA Report to shine a light on the G8’s progress in meeting their commitments to Africa.
The G8 will be hosted by Japan in 2008 and DATA is working to make sure Africa is a focus of the Summit.
Fact Sheets and Analysis
2007 Heiligendamn G8 Summit
Europe
United States
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