The Okinawa G-8 Summit:
Building a Global Development Partnership
July 22, 2000
This year, for the 1st time ever, G8 leaders met with leaders of developing
nations, international institutions, the private sector, and civil society
in support of global poverty alleviation. The Summit will create a
framework for significantly increased bilateral, multilateral, and private
sector assistance to poor countries with effective policies in three
interrelated areas: infectious diseases, basic education, and information
technology. The goal is to mobilize a more comprehensive response by the
international community in support of developing countries that exert
leadership at home on these issues. Today, President Clinton will announce
progress at the Okinawa Summit in two key areas:
Infectious Diseases. The Clinton-Gore Administration has been working to
strengthen resources and leadership among G-8 nations for the fight against
HIV/AIDS and other infectious disease threats. The global challenge of
infectious disease is major focus at this year's Summit. A majority of
G-8 nations are making significant new pledges to prevent and control
HIV/AIDS.
? United States: Under the President's FY 2001 budget request, the U.S.
contribution to this effort will be more than $4 billion. The
initiative includes stepped up international assistance for HIV/AIDS,
malaria, TB, and other infectious diseases; an accelerated effort to
develop and distribute vaccines through the Millennium Vaccine Initiative;
and expanded research on HIV/AIDS and other infectious killers.
? Other G-8: The majority of the G-8 nations are making significant
pledges to prevent and control HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB: Japan has
pledged $3 billion over five years for international HIV/AIDS, malaria
and TB; Canada has announced more than $100 million for HIV/AIDS; the
UK and Italy have committed substantial increases for international
infectious disease partnerships.
? World Bank: The World Bank has committed $600 - $700 million in
lending for HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB and immunizations. The Clinton-Gore
Administration has been urging multilateral development banks to
increase their resources for health care systems, including
vaccination and HIV/AIDS prevention and care.
Digital Divide. President Clinton will announce a number of new public and
private sector efforts to bridge the global digital divide and to create
digital opportunity for the people of the developing world, including:
? As part of the Okinawa Charter on the Global Information Society,
which will be released today at the G-8 Summit, President Clinton and the
other G-8 leaders will call for the creation of a Digital Opportunity
Task Force, or "dot force."
? Markle Foundation, World Economic Forum, IBM, Harvard University,
United Nations Development Program and UN Foundation will create a
network readiness initiative - available to all developing nations.
? United Nations Development Program, Andersen Consulting, and Markle
Foundation will develop strategy and implementation plan for bridging
the digital divide.
These announcements are part of an Okinawa Summit that will help promote a
coordinated approach to poverty reduction around the world. Trade and
technology are potentially powerful engines of growth and development for
poor countries, but they are not always sufficient to reduce poverty. Lack
of human capacity due to disease, malnutrition, and illiteracy make the
opportunity created by trade and technology more theoretical than real for
many. Sick and malnourished people have less access to education and
perform less well in school, reducing their economic opportunity.
Illiterate people are harder to reach through HIV/AIDS and other public
health campaigns and are less equipped to follow prescribed medical
treatments for diseases and other illnesses. And while information
technology holds enormous promise for improving health care, education, and
economic opportunity in poor, remote areas, it also has the potential to
widen social disparities without explicit efforts to ensure broad access.
? HIV/AIDS. Zambia lost 1,300 teachers in 1998, equivalent to
two-thirds of all new teachers trained. In Botswana, Zimbabwe, and
S. Africa, half of all 15 year olds are projected to die of AIDS.
The population of each of these countries will actually decline in the
coming years. 44 million kids will be orphaned worldwide in the next
decade as a result of AIDS.
? Other Diseases. Tuberculosis accounts for more than 2.3 million
deaths each year, while malaria kills more than one million, mostly
children in Africa. Diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections
are even more
devastating, killing nearly 6 million annually in developing
countries. At least 3 million children die needlessly each year for
lack of access to existing vaccines.
? Digital divide. Of the estimated 332 million people online as of
March 2000, less than 1 percent (2.77 million) live in Africa. Less than
5 percent of the computers that are connected to the Internet are
in developing countries. The developed world has 49.5 phone lines
per 100 people, compared to 1.4 phones in low-income countries.
? Basic Education. Of the estimated 120 million children not enrolled
in school, an estimated 60 to 70 percent are girls. 40% of African
children are out of school (42 million total), as are 26% of South and
West Asian children (46 million). At least four years of quality
education are necessary for sustainable literacy and numeracy skills, but
about 150 million children reportedly drop out before completing fourth
grade. A 1995 UNICEF/UNESCO study found that about one-third of
students don't have classrooms with blackboards, and a similar number
lack desks, chairs, and access to safe water.
The Okinawa Summit's unprecedented emphasis on development builds on one of
the primary achievements of last year's G-7/G-8 Summit, the Cologne Debt
Initiative. The expanded Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative
launched in Cologne will triple the scale of debt relief for the world's
most heavily indebted poor countries, freeing up additional resources for
investment in the health and education of their people. The President has
requested $435 million for this year's participation in the Cologne Debt
Initiative, $810 million including FY 2002 and 2003. As many as 33
countries stand to see their foreign debts reduced by about 70% when
combined with previous initiatives, reducing their annual external debt
service payments but by as much as half. Nine countries have qualified for
expanded relief thus far. For example:
? In Mozambique, even after the floods, expenditures on education and
health care are expected to increase from 31% of expenditures to over
35%, an expansion of $45 million. In 2000, Mozambique's debt
service-to-export ratio will be 2.5%; in 1998, it was 20%.
? Tanzania will save about $100 million per year in debt service for the
next several years and will use HIPC debt relief to conduct a nationwide
campaign to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS and immunize children.
Promoting economic development in poor countries is in the U.S. national
interest. There is a growing disparity in income levels between the
richest and poorest countries in the world, posing a challenge to our
moral, economic, and security interests.
? More than 1.2 billion of the world's roughly 6 billion people live on
less than $1 a day. Another 1.6 billion live on less than $2 a day.
Real incomes fell during the 1990s in Sub-Saharan Africa, in much of the
Middle East, and in many developing countries.
? Improved progress on development will help broaden participation in
the benefits of global integration, expand common ground on trade
liberalization, and improve prospects for regional security and
environmental sustainability. Healthier and more literate people
face greater economic opportunity, have smaller families, are more fully
equipped to participate as citizens in democracies, and thus more likely to
live in peace with their neighbors.
###
President and First Lady | Vice President and Mrs. Gore
Record of Progress | The Briefing Room
Gateway to Government | Contacting the White House | White House for Kids
White House History | White House Tours | Help
Privacy Statement