Britain hails £30bn deal to fund Aids fight in Africa

Published on Friday 8 June 2007 14:23

BRITAIN hailed a G8 deal on Africa today after world leaders agreed a multi-billion-pound package to boost the fight against Aids and provide free schooling.

The summit in Heiligendamm on Germany's Baltic coast agreed 30 billion of extra aid over the next few years as part of a "strong commitment" to universal access to antiretroviral HIV treatments by 2010. The leaders of the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Japan also agreed to boost education funding in Africa by half a billion dollars this year alone and pledged support for long-term funding of the schools initiative. A deal was also struck to seek to cut malaria deaths by half through programmes in 30 African countries. It was further agreed that next year's G8 in Japan will maintain the focus on Africa.

Mr Blair said: "It's a deal between Africa and the developed world and just as we have recommitted ourselves to substantial increases in support and help, so Africa has recommitted itself to its responsibilities as part of a partnership - proper governance against corruption, proper democracy and so on. Both of us know that we have got a long way to go and a lot to do but the truth is there's been immense progress made."

• US president George Bush was taken ill at the summit.

He was said to have come down with a stomach ailment and was resting in his room. But the White House said Mr Bush's illness was "not serious".