Over the weekend, the small seaside town of Carbis Bay in Cornwall hosted some of the world’s most powerful leaders from the G7 club of advanced economies. The weekend saw the usual pomp and pageantry that comes with a G7 Summit, with a rare dose of British sunshine providing a stunning backdrop for official photographs, and making the beach barbecues and civil society stunts more bearable than they otherwise might have been.
But as life in Carbis Bay returns to normal, what legacy have the G7 leaders left?
Hopes were high for bold action from this year’s G7. With the COVID-19 pandemic still in full swing, amplifying the devastating impacts of climate and inequality crises on the world’s poorest families, timely and decisive action from the G7 had the potential to set the world on a pathway towards an inclusive, green recovery.
Working with partners from the Crack the Crises coalition and beyond, Save the Children pushed hard for the G7 to use the Summit to chart a way out of global crisis. We called for a Real Recovery Deal, delivering universal vaccination, plus health care, learning and nourishment for children whose lives, and futures, have been turned upside down by the pandemic.
On the whole, we were left disappointed. The G7 has failed to deliver, particularly in terms of the resources needed globally for the restoration of children’s rights and an exit from the crisis.
The biggest disappointment of the Summit was its failure to deliver on the promised ‘intensified international effort’ to vaccinate the world. We needed to see concrete commitment from the G7 to share their burden of COVID vaccine financing needed for this year and next, a roadmap for raising the billions more needed to actually get the vaccines to the people who need them, and urgent and ambitious dose sharing. Instead, we saw no new money for vaccines, and a promise of a billion shared doses to be shared at some point in the coming year – a small proportion of the estimated surplus available, and an amount that would cover a meagre 10% of the population of low and middle income countries. Lives will be lost as a result of this low level of ambition.
The lack of concrete action and money from the G7 is out of sync with the rhetoric of the communiqué, which recognises the scale of the challenge. Its words of commitment to human rights, protecting the planet, gender equality and leaving no one behind are welcome. As are some of the commitments made – most notably in the Girls’ Education Declaration which recognises the urgent need to address the devastating and disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on the most marginalised girls.
Another important step forward is the G7’s Famine prevention and Humanitarian Crises Compact , which contains commitments on multisectoral action and addressing malnutrition which we fought hard for. We also welcome explicit G7 support for key initiatives including the Global Partnership for Education, Generation Equality Forum and Nutrition for Growth Summit, although political support must be matched by ambitious pledges and commitments later in the year.
However, the world’s poorest children need more, as illustrated by our scorecard below. The G7 have failed to commit the funding and urgency of action needed to match the scale of the current global crisis.
As we look ahead to the G20, COP26 and Nutrition For Growth Summit, G7 countries need to up their game to ensure the opportunity to make 2021 a year of real recovery and change for children is not lost.
Related links:
Why the G7 matters
Tomorrow is Now: 2020 Annual Report
