Statement by Joe Cerrell on the EU’s Plan in Support of the Millennium Development Goals | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

LONDON -- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation welcomes today’s proposals by the European Commission (EC) of its twelve point action plan to meet Europe’s commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and address the needs of the world’s poorest people.

We applaud the call for other international donors to match Europe’s level of ambition and the Commission’s plans to work with member states to strengthen the accountability of their Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) commitments. 

Despite the economic climate, it is heartening that many European countries have met or even exceeded their ODA commitments. We hope other EU member states will match the commitment made by Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Sweden and the UK, all of which have met the 2010 deadline to provide over 0.51% target of Gross National Income (GNI) in development assistance. 

The foundation agrees with the Commission’s call to increase successful investments in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the GAVI Alliance, which together have saved millions of lives.

The EU’s commitment to support proposals on innovative funding is particularly welcome and we are encouraged that the EU recognises the success of the Advanced Market Commitment (AMC) scheme which was launched by the foundation in 2005, with the support of the governments of Canada, Italy, Russia, Norway and the UK, with the potential to save 5.4 million lives.