The G8 convened north of Toronto on Friday to tackle aid issues, specifically on child and maternal health in some of the world's poorest nations, a signature piece for Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, although not without controversy.  The announcement came in the afternoon that G8 leaders had reached an agreement to increase their modest spending, however not all G8 nations will be providing the same level of funding.  Canada pledged an additional $1.1 billion on top of it's current commitment of $1.75 billion.

At first glance the progress made on the child and maternal health initiative may seem like a lot, but when I asked various representatives of the NGOs present they weren't as encouraged.  The organization ONE, which created the Make Poverty History campaign, took a more critical view of the summit and the limited contributions made by the majority of the G8.  Their press conference held in the morning before the announcement that an agreement had been reached was critical of the summit and its organizers.  ONE's spokesperson went so far as to call Canada's hosting of the G8 the worst they had ever attended, worse than the Russian summit in 2006.

Here, it seems, was the real story of the day.  G8 leaders and their delegates were meeting in Muskoka, while all of the aid groups were left in Toronto in the alternative media centre.  There was no real engagement by the G8 with those organizations that do the real work on the ground, leaving a bitter taste in their mouths.  Even much of the international media, located at a separate building in Toronto, were critical of being left behind as well as being separated from the various NGOs, complaining that the summit was poorly implemented.  I had heard reports of media in Toronto doing nothing but taking photos of each other because of the lack of access to anyone of significance, although everyone seems to be happy with the free food like the lamb, roast chicken, three mushroom rizzoto, and a number of other fancy dishes.

According to the latest report by ONE, prior G8 commitments to international aid have come in roughly around 60% of their promised funding with Italy being a dismal failure at -6% and the UK meeting all of their fairly robust commitments along with a re-emphasized commitment by newly elected Prime Minister David Cameron.  ONE can boast of significant progress made in the fight against poverty and AIDS with an impressive 3 million people being treated for the disease in Africa and an even more impressive 42 million more children able to attend primary school, especially girls.  The education and health of women in Africa is increasingly seen as the primary way to improve the lives of all Africans, and for that matter the world over.  When women are able to take control of their lives, get an education, and have a a direct influence on day to day life, communities flourish.  International aid is an investment and not a handout, that currently has a long track record of success thanks to organizations like ONE.

As a final thought, I'd like to take a moment and talk a bit about a lone protester outside of the media pavilions holding a sign with a photo of her husband on it.  She had been there by herself since Thursday standing a silent vigil for her husband who is a Canadian citizen being held prisoner in Iran, accused of being a spy.  Her sign said that he has been in captivity for 25 months and I was told that the Canadian government had done little to advocate on his behalf.  I felt terrible for her and perhaps she will get enough exposure by the media as a whole to help her reunite with her husband in the near future.  If you're interested in helping go to Freehamid.org and read about their plight.