Campaigners Urge G7 To Deliver Actions Rather Than Broken Promises – As Latest Data Shows The Full Cost Of Converging Crises
- Global life expectancy has fallen for first time since 1950s
- Nearly 15 million excess deaths are linked to the COVID-19 pandemic
- 140 million people facing food crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- G7 has failed to meet seven key promises from its last summit
Ahead of the G7 Leaders’ summit in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany this Sunday, global activists have urged the group to act more decisively, as new analysis shows the devastating impact of the spiraling and interwoven global crises that are threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of people around the world.
The analysis, released by anti-poverty organization, The ONE Campaign, shows following the Covid 19 pandemic, global life expectancy has fallen for the first time since records began in 1950 and how this situation is now in danger of being exacerbated by a looming worldwide food crisis, escalating economic instability, and the growing fallout from climate change.
Despite the universal threat these crises present, additional research from ONE also shows that the G7 failed to meet seven key pledges on tackling Covid, climate change, debt and the economic aftershocks of the pandemic made by leaders at their last summit, held in the UK in June 2021.
Edwin Ikhuoria, Executive Director for Africa at the ONE Campaign said: “The stakes at this summit could not be higher. We are now seeing the deadly impact of the converging crises of Covid, conflict, climate change and hunger – as well as their catastrophic economic aftershocks which are driving up inflation, sparking price shocks and putting a growing number of countries at risk of defaulting on their debts.
“The whole world desperately needs the G7 to show real leadership, but they arrive with a track record of broken promises and double standards that extend the lifetime of these crises for everyone and which leave the world’s most vulnerable people in danger of being overwhelmed.
“We do not have the luxury of picking which of these crises to tackle – if leaders at the summit choose to ignore any of them, it will have devastating consequences for people everywhere. Warm words and empty promises simply won’t suffice. With the future of the whole world on the line, they must deliver the vision, plans and resources needed to tackle these crises.”