“This is not the time to be timid in the fight against poverty”, declared George Brown, British Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister), following the accord reached by the G7 in London for the total cancellation of the debt of 18 countries. A total sum of 55 billion dollars will be written off by the main international financial institutions (World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Fund for the Development of Africa). As an integral part of the deal, the European Union as the international organization that is the world leader in aid to development has pledged to double its aid to the poor countries, boosting it from the current 40 billion dollars to 80 billion by 2010: the one “condition” imposed on the beneficiary countries is the maximum transparency asked of the local authorities in the administration and distribution of the aid. The EU will also contribute to the special Fund a sum of 4 billion dollars approved by the G8 for access to anti-AIDS drugs (by 2010) and for child vaccinations (by 2015).
