G8 renews commitments to polio eradication

At their 8-9 July summit meeting in Japan, the G8 nations agreed to "maintain momentum towards the historical achievement of eradicating polio."

To do so, their joint statement continued, "We will meet our previous commitments to maintain or increase financial contributions to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative [GPEI], and encourage other public and private donors to do the same."

Together, the G8 countries -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States -- account for more than half of all funding of the GPEI. The initiative is led by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF.

The G8 first placed polio eradication on its summit agenda in 2002. It has renewed its commitment to eradication at every summit since then, but not all member countries have completed their financial contributions.

In addition to raising funds, G8 countries work as a group to advocate broad support for ending polio. Advocacy by G8 leaders for the four remaining polio-endemic countries -- Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan -- is critical to ensure eradication of the disease.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation welcomed the G8's renewed commitment to finishing polio. Following release of the G8's 2008 summit communiqué, the Gates Foundation stated, "In recognition of the G8's continued attention to polio eradication, the foundation will commit at least US$150 million to fight polio this year. This is in addition to the $250 million we have committed to date toward
polio eradication efforts."

Finishing polio worldwide remains Rotary's top goal. Vital to helping achieve that goal is Rotary's US$100 Million Challenge, the three-year funding effort to match the Gates Foundation's $100 million grant to The Rotary Foundation for polio eradication.

What is the G8?
The G8 is short for "Group of Eight," just as G7 is short for "Group of Seven." The eight members of the G8 are, in order of their rotating hosting responsibilities: France; United States; United Kingdom; Russia (as of 2006); Germany; Japan; Italy; Canada

Since 1975, the heads of state or government of the major industrial democracies have been meeting annually to deal with the major economic and political issues facing their domestic societies and the international community as a whole. The six countries at the first summit, held at Rambouillet, France, in November 1975, were France, the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan and Italy (sometimes referred to as the G6). They were joined by Canada at the San Juan Summit of 1976 in Puerto Rico, and by the European Community at the London Summit of 1977.

From then on, membership in the Group of Seven, or G7, was fixed, although 15 developing countries' leaders met with the G7 leaders on the eve of the 1989 Paris Summit, and the USSR and then Russia participated in a post-summit dialogue with the G7 since 1991. Starting with the 1994 Naples Summit, the G7 met with Russia at each summit (referred to as the P8 or Political Eight). The Denver Summit of the Eight was a milestone, marking full Russian participation in all but financial and certain economic discussions; and the 1998 Birmingham Summit saw full Russian participation, giving birth to the Group of Eight, or G8 (although the G7 continued to function along side the formal summits). At the Kananaskis Summit in Canada in 2002, it was announced that Russia would host the G8 Summit in 2006, thus completing its process of becoming a full member.

The G8 Summit has consistently dealt with macroeconomic management, international trade, and relations with developing countries. Questions of East-West economic relations, energy, and terrorism have also been of recurrent concern. From this initial foundation the summit agenda has broadened considerably to include microeconomic issues such as employment and the information highway, transnational issues such as the environment, crime and drugs, and a host of political-security issues ranging from human rights through regional security to arms control.

The responsibility of host rotates throughout the summit cycle at the end of the calendar year, as follows: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia (as of 2006), Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada. Throughout the year, the leaders' personal representatives – known as sherpas – meet regularly to discuss the agenda and monitor progress.

In addition, the G8 has developed a network of supporting ministerial meetings, which allow ministers to meet regularly throughout the year in order to continue the work set out at each summit; these include the meetings of the finance ministers, foreign ministers and environment ministers, among others. G7/8 ministers and officials also meet on an ad hoc basis to deal with pressing issues, such a terrorism, energy, and development; from time to time the leaders also create task forces or working groups to focus intensively on certain issues of concern, such as a drug-related money laundering, nuclear safety, and transnational organized crime.

The G8 provides an important occasion for busy leaders to discuss major, often complex international issues, and to the develop the personal relations that help them respond in effective collective fashion to sudden crises or shocks. The summit also gives direction to the international community by setting priorities, defining new issues and providing guidance to established international organizations. At times it arrives at decisions that address pressing problems or shape international order more generally.

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