Africa: African aid to be consolidated into single action plan

All the commitments made by both donors and African countries to lift the continent out of poverty will be consolidated into one action plan and monitored on an annual basis, the Department for International Development announced. The leading Group of Eight nations have pledged universal access to HIV treatment by 2010. There has also been a commitment to set a date for the ending of export subsidies, which will give poor countries a fairer trading environment with the west. Anti-malarial drugs and treated mosquito nets will be available to 85% of Africans vulnerable to malaria by 2015. Meanwhile, African nations have pledged to undergo a review of democratic processes once every two years.