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To achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), we strongly suggest that the G8 live up to their promises to meet the target of 0.7% of GDP, deliver the 50 billion USD to development in Africa, and cancel the national debt of developing countries, as was pledged in previous summits and declarations. This would enable African countries to address basic health, water and sanitation, education, infrastructure and agriculture simultaneously. We recommend that the G8 leaders support developing countries through the creation of "End Poverty Bonds". The collected funds will be transferred to micro-financing centres in developing countries, so that local entrepreneurs can begin businesses and create new job opportunities. Funds dedicated to foreign aid must be monitored closely by a neutral external organization to ensure that they are used effectively, and to avoid losing funds to corruption. We also propose that G8 governments invest in projects on the development of rural areas, such as the Millennium Village Project in Africa. We encourage G8 leaders to make every effort to include developing nations in free trade negotiations by continuing the proposals of the Doha process. This means that industrialised countries would abolish economic barriers, like taxes and agriculture subsidies, thus enabling developing countries to trade on equal terms, particularly in the sectors of agriculture and renewable energies. This allows for the emergence of stable economies, and encourages progress towards ending extreme poverty. G8 governments should take the initiative to buy patents from pharmaceutical companies to facilitate the production of generic drugs for infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS. This in turn will ensure that everyone has access to free medication, including antiretroviral medicines and vaccines for tuberculosis, malaria and polio. |