20100627
reuters

G8 wealthy countries said on Saturday the global economic crisis threatened to undermine 2015 global targets for halving extreme poverty around the world.

In a communique at the end of a two-day summit in a lake resort north of Toronto, the Group of Eight failed to acknowledge its unmet aid promises, which fell $18 billion short of a $50 billion target by 2010.

Instead, the G8 trumpeted a new $5 billion initiative to reduce deaths among mothers and their newborns, which has become a growing concern in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

The G8 meeting took place under a cloud of doubt about the strength of the economic recovery and the state of public finances, which has left leaders unable to offer bolder aid commitments.

"A decade of policy commitments and joint efforts with our partners has brought significant progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)," the communique read.

"But both developed and developing countries must do more; meanwhile, the (economic) crisis has jeopardized advancement toward meeting some of the 2015 targets," it added.

It said meeting the 2015 poverty goals -- agreed on by the leaders of more than 150 nations in 2000 -- was a "shared responsibility" and urged greater efforts to ensure the targets were met in Africa.

With just five years before the 2015 deadline, leaders of U.N. member states are scheduled to meet in September in New York to seek ways to achieve the targets.