A billion people living on less than a dollar a day; 800 million people suffering from famine; 6 million children dying due to malnutrition each year; an African child dying of malaria every 30 seconds: these are some of the harsh realities of which we are reminded each year by International Anti-Poverty Day, introduced in 2000 during the Millennium Summit with the prime objective of reducing global poverty by half by 2015. Louis Michel, Commissioner for Development of the EU – which with funding of almost 50 billion Euros in 2006 is confirmed as the leading world donor – has expressed his own misgivings about the slowness of progress towards the achievement of the millennium objectives and the difficulties encountered by those pledged to eradicate poverty. “Europe can and must act in a decisive manner in this long-term struggle – said Michel -, in the first place for ethical reasons, but also because combating poverty in the world represents the best structural and long-term response to the global challenges”. Since 2005 the EU has adopted a strategy for Africa with a view to achieving greater efficiency “in the constant commitment to working side by side with our partners”. The strategy makes the allocation of aid conditional on the real democratic performance of the beneficiary states.
