all_i_want
Refugee
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- Dec 3, 2004
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BBC says Bush is going to pledge $674 million. Everyone knows that is simply not enough. Britain might be partners in crime with the US in Iraq, but at least their conscience remains intact. If the administration doesnt step up to meet the challenge, the country so called leadership of the free world will be seriously questionable.
Bush 'to pledge famine aid cash'
US President George W Bush is set to pledge $674m (£350m) for famine relief in Africa as part of a joint initiative with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Mr Blair is in Washington to press for the president's support for his plans to get Africa back on its feet.
But Mr Bush's promise falls far short of what Mr Blair wants, analysts say.
The US has already rejected several of the elements of Britain's so-called "Marshall Plan for Africa", ahead of next month's G8 summit in Scotland.
Mr Blair hopes to use his chairmanship of the summit to gather support for Third World debt relief.
Mr Bush's $674m is destined largely for Ethiopia and Eritrea, to fight famine, and for humanitarian needs in other African countries.
This money is part of the US aid budget that had already been announced but had not yet been allocated to a country.
Britain is also expected to contribute money to the cause.
US opposition
The US has also set aside $1.4bn (£767m) requested by the United Nations to address emergency needs.
Nevertheless, Mr Blair recognises that he will not get support for crucial parts of his three-pronged attack on poverty in Africa - a package of debt relief, increased aid and fairer trade.
In an interview for the Financial Times newspaper on Tuesday, Mr Blair acknowledged: "There are certain things we know they are not going to do, that we are not asking them to do."
Mr Bush has already opposed UK treasury chief Gordon Brown's plan to use an international finance facility (IFF) to fund vaccinations, funded by borrowing on the bond market, saying he cannot commit the US to future debt repayments.
The US has also refused to agree to give 0.7% of its national income in international aid, a long-term commitment Mr Blair wants from all G8 countries.
"We are not asking them to sign up to the IFF or 0.7% in aid. They are not going to do that and they've made that clear right from the very beginning," Mr Blair said.
Washington's reluctance to join Mr Blair's crusade against poverty has angered some development experts.
"The US is not pulling its weight right now," said Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University's Earth Institute.
He said there was "a great myth in the US" that aid was ineffective because of inefficiency and corruption.
"It's a nonsense. Aid works - the problem is it's on such a small scale that it's not commensurate with the challenge," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"It's important for Prime Minister Blair to explain the truth to his American counterparts."
Mr Blair's spokesman acknowledged that battling poverty was "about more than throwing money at the problem".
He played down expectations for the meeting with the US president, saying the visit was part of the preparation for the summit at Gleneagles, Scotland, "not Gleneagles itself".
Stress positive
Mr Bush and Mr Blair are also expected to make a joint announcement on climate change - another British priority for Gleneagles.
The two countries also have different approaches to that issue.
The US favours a technology-based solution to global warming over targets to curb greenhouse gases.
Mr Blair told the Financial Times he was not asking the US "to reverse [its] position on Kyoto. There's no way the Americans are going to do that."
But he said he was still hopeful of a breakthrough.
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the US and UK continue to have many differences. But they will stress the positive, and try to ensure that the differences do not cast a shadow over Gleneagles.
Bush 'to pledge famine aid cash'
US President George W Bush is set to pledge $674m (£350m) for famine relief in Africa as part of a joint initiative with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Mr Blair is in Washington to press for the president's support for his plans to get Africa back on its feet.
But Mr Bush's promise falls far short of what Mr Blair wants, analysts say.
The US has already rejected several of the elements of Britain's so-called "Marshall Plan for Africa", ahead of next month's G8 summit in Scotland.
Mr Blair hopes to use his chairmanship of the summit to gather support for Third World debt relief.
Mr Bush's $674m is destined largely for Ethiopia and Eritrea, to fight famine, and for humanitarian needs in other African countries.
This money is part of the US aid budget that had already been announced but had not yet been allocated to a country.
Britain is also expected to contribute money to the cause.
US opposition
The US has also set aside $1.4bn (£767m) requested by the United Nations to address emergency needs.
Nevertheless, Mr Blair recognises that he will not get support for crucial parts of his three-pronged attack on poverty in Africa - a package of debt relief, increased aid and fairer trade.
In an interview for the Financial Times newspaper on Tuesday, Mr Blair acknowledged: "There are certain things we know they are not going to do, that we are not asking them to do."
Mr Bush has already opposed UK treasury chief Gordon Brown's plan to use an international finance facility (IFF) to fund vaccinations, funded by borrowing on the bond market, saying he cannot commit the US to future debt repayments.
The US has also refused to agree to give 0.7% of its national income in international aid, a long-term commitment Mr Blair wants from all G8 countries.
"We are not asking them to sign up to the IFF or 0.7% in aid. They are not going to do that and they've made that clear right from the very beginning," Mr Blair said.
Washington's reluctance to join Mr Blair's crusade against poverty has angered some development experts.
"The US is not pulling its weight right now," said Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University's Earth Institute.
He said there was "a great myth in the US" that aid was ineffective because of inefficiency and corruption.
"It's a nonsense. Aid works - the problem is it's on such a small scale that it's not commensurate with the challenge," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"It's important for Prime Minister Blair to explain the truth to his American counterparts."
Mr Blair's spokesman acknowledged that battling poverty was "about more than throwing money at the problem".
He played down expectations for the meeting with the US president, saying the visit was part of the preparation for the summit at Gleneagles, Scotland, "not Gleneagles itself".
Stress positive
Mr Bush and Mr Blair are also expected to make a joint announcement on climate change - another British priority for Gleneagles.
The two countries also have different approaches to that issue.
The US favours a technology-based solution to global warming over targets to curb greenhouse gases.
Mr Blair told the Financial Times he was not asking the US "to reverse [its] position on Kyoto. There's no way the Americans are going to do that."
But he said he was still hopeful of a breakthrough.
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the US and UK continue to have many differences. But they will stress the positive, and try to ensure that the differences do not cast a shadow over Gleneagles.