The Make Poverty History coalition is calling on the G8 to ensure that the unpayable debts of the world’s poorest countries are cancelled in full, without harming aid budgets to meet any costs. It recognises that aid cannot compensate for unfair terms of trade. Furthermore, the coalition wishes the G8 to stop forcing poor countries to follow imposed policies in return for debt cancellation and to agree to a just and transparent system for handling debt problems, which takes account of poor countries’ needs and views and not just those of the creditors. The nature of global economic, military and political power means that the G8 countries (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, USA, Japan and Russia) often without the consent of their own citizens, are able to block progress towards complete eradication of poverty. Representatives of these governments have stated how concerned they are, however, in the main, the reality of their practice suggests that they are primarily committed to advancing their own national interests.

What is needed is real commitment, courage or vision to move the world in the direction of greater equality and solidarity. There will be a minute’s silence to remember the world’s poor on July 2nd led by the Make Poverty History rally in Edinburgh, and on the Live8 stages in London, Paris, Rome, Philadelphia, Berlin and around the world. The aim is to make sure that G8 leaders are aware and take action to alleviate the poverty that is needlessly claiming the lives of 30,000 children every day. ‘We have come to the point where we must recognise that every one of us is either part of the problem or part of the solution. Global Call to Action Against Poverty is not an organization, it is a call to the conscience of every citizen we can reach around the world. It does not have leaders, offices, bureaucracy or dedicated funding and it draws on the goodwill of those that support it.

‘We have come to the point where we must recognise that every one of us is either part of the problem or part of the solution. Global Call to Action Against Poverty is not an organization, it is a call to the conscience of every citizen we can reach around the world. It does not have leaders, offices, bureaucracy or dedicated funding and it draws on the goodwill of those that support it. We want to create a framework for action where every citizen sees themselves as a leader in their own right, who should feel free to organise The campaign is growing rapidly, its supporters include Trade Unions, Non Governmental Organisations, the largest religious networks and various organisations that normally work in isolation from each other.Kumi adds: ‘This is a time for unity for putting aside our differences and focusing on so much the civil society agrees on, the time has come for citizens around the world to say that enough is enough. The planet’s future depends on achieving a fair, just, equitable and sustainable way of managing its scarce and finite resources. If part of humanity lives in abject poverty, the bottom line is that all of humanity is poor.’