Food security and nutrition were the only development issues to take center stage at the Camp David G8 summit from May 18-19. President Barack Obama announced a food security partnership  called The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition and also commited G8 countries to lift 50 million people out of poverty in the next decade. The announcement was made on the sidelines of the G8 summit at an annual symposium in Washington D.C. which was hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

The alliance brings together new actors to help resolve the challenge of global hunger and malnutrition and includes the private sector, governments, foundations and civil society. While InterAction welcomes the new alliance, it also urges governments to follow through on their previous pledges on food security made at the G8 summit in L’Aquila in 2009.

The U.S. government released an Accountability Report of how G8 nations have met previous pledges, such as the $22 billion commitment made in L'Aquila. A little over half of the funds have been disbursed so far.

InterAction and its members released detailed recommendations for Camp David on issues ranging from food security and health to anti-corruption efforts and a need for the G8 system to be more transparent. InterAction’s G8/G20 Task Force has published the following background policy briefs:
 

• Food Security, Agriculture, and Nutrition
• Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
• HIV/AIDS
• Accountability

           Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
 

G8 Statistics

Below are statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for G8 nations. Russia is in the process of applying for membership in the OECD and is not currently a member.