Opinion Pieces Published Ahead Of G8 Summit

The following is a summary of opinion pieces published ahead of the 39th annual G8 Summit taking place in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, on Monday and Tuesday.

  • Lucy Chesire, Huffington Post’s “The Big Push” blog: “As the Group of Eight (G8) meetings get underway on the 17th and 18th of this month, there are many issues of great magnitude that world leaders will be asked to examine and review,” Chesire, executive director and secretary to the Board of the TB ACTION Group, writes. “Despite the incredible support that the G8 has provided to the Global Fund and the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria over the years there is a sense that somehow, it is no longer as important,” she states, adding, “We have the opportunity to start to defeat AIDS, TB and malaria but if we do not fully replenish the Global Fund for 2014-16 we will not reach the tipping point, we will slide back on the scale to a point where we no longer have the tools to fight epidemics that are on an upswing.” She continues, “As a woman living with HIV who is alive 20 years since my own diagnosis, I encourage the leaders who will gather at Lough Erne to celebrate their success for supporting the Global Fund this far, and to realize that our tomorrow depends on their decisions at this critical moment” (6/13).
  • Bill Nighy, The Guardian’s “Comment is Free” blog: “Even in today’s age of austerity, the G8 has a chance to build on the successes of the Gleneagles summit and, in particular, tackle the forgotten scandal of hunger,” Nighy, an actor and advocate for a Robin Hood tax, writes. “Since 2005, I’ve visited developing countries and campaigned with Oxfam at a number of G8 and G20 summits — pushing leaders to deliver on their promises to the poorest and seeing for myself the difference the money can make,” he notes, and writes, “This year’s G8 is unlikely to see much movement on aid beyond the very welcome additional money for nutrition announced at last weekend’s hunger summit.” He continues, “The actions the G8 needs to take are relatively simple. They need to agree new global rules — on information exchange and public information so it is clear who assets belong to — to ensure that companies can no longer use tax havens to avoid paying their fair share here and in poor countries” (6/13).
  • Baroness Jenny Tonge, Devex: “Amid all the collective speculation about the G8, the two global development-related themes that seem to be gaining momentum at present are food security and tax evasion,” Tonge, a British politician and former member of Parliament for the Liberal Democrat Party, writes. “But I hope that this will not detract from the attention that the lower profile and less well-supported areas of development receive,” she continues, adding, “Areas that are just as vital for societies’ long-term well-being in developing countries, such as the rights of women to make an empowered decision about their family size based on their aspirations, their economic means, the public services that are available to them and all that they have learned in school” (6/13).

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