British Prime Minister Tony Blair's pressing for Africa's cause met just warm words of praise and a few promises from the American President, George W. Bush, at a White House Conference.
Bush stated that helping the poorest countries in Africa "by providing additional resources, will preserve the financial integrity of the World Bank and the African Development Bank", which are now supposed to distribute the aids.
Therefore,
the US can only promise $674 million for famine relief in Africa and third world countries, while Blair is thinking of $25 billion planned to be added annually in order to double the aid within three to five years.
Helping "that troubled continent to come out of poverty and deprivation which so many millions of its people suffer" and "thousands of children die from preventable diseases every day" is "our duty to act" said the British Prime Minister. On the other hand, Bush thinks that only countries "on the path to reform" should qualify for the money.
Ethiopia and Eritrea will be the first African countries to benefit from the 350 million package agreed by the President and Prime Minister.
Bush thinks he has fulfilled his commitment to pay attention to Africa, by developing lots of important HIV-AIDS initiative ad fought against starvation as well.
But Blair also talked about meeting the challenges of climate change, of energy security and energy supply, that also need "clear and immediate action", plans which the Bush administration is still reluctant to.
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