This year's G8 is hosted by Japan. The G8 Summit will take place on 7 - 9 July in Hokkaido-Toyako. For updated information and to find out what happened at this years G8 summit please see www.g8aidscampaign.org
For more updated information and to find out what happened at this years G8 summit please see www.g8aidscampaign.org
The “Group of Eight” or G8, is an international forum composed of 8 country members – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russian, United Kingdom and the United States. A representative from the European Commission also participates.
Prior to the mid-year G8 summit, there are many minister-level meetings held. The meeting and their discussions are planned by high-ranking government aids called “Sherpas.” At these meetings foreign, environmental and finance ministers among others, meet to discuss a variety of topics including energy, the environment, social development and terrorism.
Within the G8, some of the world’s most critical issues are discussed. Despite often being criticised for having an overly northern focus, and not having truly ‘global’ representation, the outcomes from the G8 meetings do help determine the world’s development agenda. In the fight against AIDS, the G8 plays a particularly important role.
This year’s G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, was a time for civil society to hold governments accountable to the promises they made. While climate change and international security dominated media attention on the G8, AIDS campaigners focused mainly on the lack of AIDS financing, weak health systems, intellectual property rights and lack of accountability on AIDS promises.
G8 leaders are side-stepping their responsibility to create an enabling environment for global responses to the major health issues facing poor nations, such as AIDS and tuberculosis. Their annual summits are more about political rhetoric than genuine governmental intentions.