DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Aid Plan for Africa Called Progress, If

DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Aid Plan for Africa Called Progress, If Only Limited
By Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: Monday, July 18, 2005

I'm Barbara Klein with the VOA Special English Development Report.

There is praise mixed with criticism for the Africa aid plan announced by leaders from the Group of Eight. The announcement came July eighth at the end of their meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland. The eight nations are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

The G-Eight leaders agreed to increase their yearly development aid to fifty thousand million dollars within five years. The current level is twenty-five thousand million. The leaders also agreed to cancel forty thousand million dollars in debt owed by eighteen nations, mostly in Africa.

 
British Prime Minister Tony Blair makes a statement before a group photo at the end of the G8 summit², Friday
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is the G-Eight president this year. As he announced the plan, he noted³, "We speak today in the shadow of terrorism." Bombs exploded on three London trains and a bus on July seventh, opening day of the meeting.

Mister Blair described the aid measures as a strong first step. "It isn't the end of poverty in Africa," he said. "But, it is the hope that it can be ended."

Many development experts, though, say the aid falls short. The group Action Aid estimates that less than half of the additional money promised to Africa is truly new. It says most is simply a reorganization of existing aid budgets. Action Aid also says more than forty other poor nations should have debts cancelled, too.

At the same time, experts say many countries lack measures to make sure aid money is not stolen. And money can come too quickly. Robert Bunyi is Africa economist⁴ for Standard Bank. He says large amounts of aid can lead to stronger currency values which make countries less appealing to foreign investors⁵. Still, he says, "Any increase in aid is going to be good for Africa."

As head of the G-Eight, Tony Blair has promised to make the fight against poverty one of his main concerns. The United Nations Millennium⁶ Development Goals aim to cut world poverty in half by two thousand fifteen. The United Nations wants rich countries to agree to spend seven-tenths of one percent of their national earnings⁷ on aid. The European Union has promised to reach that level by two thousand fifteen. But other nations such as the United States, Canada and Japan have not.

Prime Minister Blair noted the limits of the measures agreed to in Scotland. "It isn't all everyone wanted," he said. "But it is progress."

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss.  I'm Barbara Klein.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 summit   

n.最高点，峰顶；最高级会议；极点

参考例句：

• They climbed up the mountain and reached the summit.他们爬山，最终达到了山顶。
• The summit of the mountain is lost in the cloud and mist.山顶隐没在云雾之中。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

5 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

6 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

7 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。