At the G8 summit, Prime Minister Berlusconi reaffirmed his commitment to meeting the aid pledges which Italy endorsed over the past few years. At the press conference of July 9th, he confirmed the disbursement of the Italian contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria ‑ 130 million euro + additional 30 million euro to fill the Fund 2009 financial gap ‑ by the end of August; the Prime Minister’s statements were not entirely clear as dollars were mentioned instead of euro. Moreover, Italy is reported to have committed a total of USD 450 million over three year as its share of the 20 billion dollar G8 pledge to mobilize funds for a global response to the food crisis.
The Italian Government’s announcements on aid can be seen as a response to the media campaign which culminated in the last few weeks to the Summit. The international media message was simple: Italy lacked the legitimacy to chair a Summit African session due to the grave cuts in aid. Italian aid is estimated to shrink from 0.22% ODA/GNI in 2008 to 0,15% - 0,17% in 2009 in the light of the current GDP forecasts, where the upper level might possible if IDA instalments were paid in time.
In reality, the Summit did not add substance to these promises; on the contrary, a press release by Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Franco Frattini included references only to the 2015 EU ODA target (0.7% ODA/GNI) with no mention of the 0.51% ODA/GNI by 2010. More worryingly, the Government asked MPs to drop a 15 month deadline for a modest 60 million increase in the MFA aid envelope- equalling the 2006-2008 appropriation - off a Parliamentary motion on the G8 conclusion if they wanted to get the Government’s support.
In the wake of Summit, the Italian Government approved the Financial Perspective 2010-2013 paper: there is no tangible reference to aid increases. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ annex to the Financial Perspective mentions the need for a re-alignment plan of the Italian aid, yet this suggestion did not pass into the final document.
To sum up, the budget appropriation session just started is not making provision for an increase in ODA levels, which currently reflect the 56% cut in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) managed aid (about 23% of on-budget ODA). If no change in the current financial legislation is passed, the MFA aid will face a further 33% reduction in 2011, after a minimal increase in 2010.
ActionAid è un'organizzazione internazionale indipendente impegnata nella lotta contro la povertà e le cause dell'esclusione sociale. Nata nel 1972 opera in oltre 40 paesi del mondo raggiungendo oltre 13 milioni di persone che vivono in condizioni di povertà ed emarginazione.
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