LukePDQ

I've not been able to blog for a few days/weeks; but today seems too important not to echo what's happening in the big world out there TODAY.

Live8 is a big wake-up call to the G8 leaders to try and "...Make Poverty History".

This Live8 event today (broadcast simultaneously around the world) is probably the biggest wake-up call to the G8 leaders, the leaders of the most powerful countries in the world, that we are watching and waiting for a clear signal ...that they are listening!
They can only show us they are listening by their subsequent actions next week at Gleneagles.

Like millions of people around the world, I am watching the opening acts on TV.
Bono of U2 made a powerful opening message when he said "...the G8 leaders can make history by making Poverty history."
Let's hope the G8 leaders actions speak louder than rhetoric by announcing real tangible measures that will benefit the non G8 countries, like Africa, by helping to eradicate poverty, malnutrition and premature death.

WHY?
*Every day 30,000 people die unnecessarily from extreme poverty (UNICEF Statistics, www.childinfo.org)
*Every three seconds a child dies from preventable causes (Grow Up Free From Poverty, 80 Million Lives, 2003)
*Each year 3 million children die in their first week of life (DfID, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, 2004)
*In sub-Saharan Africa more than 12 million children have been orphaned as a result of HIV and AIDS (DfID, Factsheet, 2004)
*During 2003 an average of 14,000 people a day became infected with HIV. 40% of infections were in women and nearly 20% were in children. (UNFPA, State of the World Population, 2004)

HOW?
By adressing 3 key measures
1) Trade Justice.
2) Drop the Debt.
3) More and better Aid.

How the G8 leaders achieve these aims is a measure of their personal commitment, political cunning and economic expertise, given that we expect nothing less than measurable actions and meaningful progress to "...make poverty history".

Mr. Blair is hosting this historic G8 meeting between USA, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia from 6th – 9th July in Gleneagles.
If Live8 means anything (Well done Sir Bob Geldorf, Midge Ure and Bono) it is about raising awareness, demonstrating global concern and demanding our G8 Leaders act now. So, this Gleneagles meeting, for us, is now about leadership and action.
Tens of Millions of us in Britain and Hundreds of millions around the world will be waiting and watching to see how well G8 leaders meet our clearly expressed and simple expectations.