Scottish Catholic Observer

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow and religious leaders from across the G8 are calling on developed countries follow the UK’s example in fulfilling their commitments to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on aid.

Over 60 religious leaders, including Archbishop Tartaglia (above), point out in a letter to the Financial Times published today that from today 1000 days remain to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the 2015 deadline.

With a focus on tax, trade and transparency, the religious leaders argue, the UK presidency of the G8 has the potential to advance the agenda of the poor in ways that strike at the underlying causes of poverty.

“Meeting the remaining targets, while challenging, is possible but only if governments do not waiver from the moral and political commitments made over a decade ago,” the letter stresses.

The letter argues for a G8 convention on tax transparency committing signatory countries to prevent individuals and companies from hiding wealth so that it is untraceable. Further, they call on the G8 to press for greater financial transparency from governments of developing countries so citizens can hold their governments to account for the money they spend.

“Development is working but challenges remain,” the letter points out. “The number of people living in extreme poverty has been halved ahead of time and 14,000 fewer children die each day than in 1990. Yet one in eight people still go to bed hungry every night and more than 2 million die of malnutrition each year.”

—[email protected]

PIc: Paul McSherry