lifestyle leader

Bill Gates announced today that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will spend $10bn over 10 years on developing vaccines for the world's poorest countries. They aim to vaccinate over 90% of children in these countries, and could save over 8.7 million young lives as a result. Gates and his wife are arguably the greatest philanthropists of modern times, using their wealth and influence to address some of the world most under-resourced problems.

Gates also has a sharp sense of humor, as evidenced by the following shot he took at epic blowhard, sometimes assault victim and eternal IPE Journal whipping-boy Silvio Berlusconi:

'Rich people spend a lot more money on their own problems, like baldness, than they do to fight malaria...Dear Silvio, I am sorry to make things difficult for you, but you are ignoring the world's poor.'

In other words, 'I drink your milkshake.'

According to FP Passport, Italy's foreign aid budget was approximately 0.11% of GDP in 2009, one of the lowest in the developed world and half its 2008 amount. This contrasts starkly with the amount of money Berlusconi spends on his own image, which my conservative estimates put at 4,000% of his GBI (gross Berlusconi income).

The Italian premier has grabbed headlines in Italy this week for a disappearing, then reappearing, then disappearing head of hair. The bald Berlusconi is a known purveyor of the art of hair restoration, but the country is gripped by his latest, some might say insufficient, attempts at scalp renewal (I might exaggerate a tad, but it's my blog, so it must be true).

In contrast, Bill Gates spent a great deal of his time and money this week helping the world's poorest and most vulnerable.

Wait, they still have a G8, you ask? Yes indeed, and the Italians are hosting this year's leaders summit in L'Aquila. Some initial news & reaction:

- President Hu of China has returned home from the G8 earlier than expected in order to deal with the unrest in the Xinjiang region. This of courses raises the question of why he was there in the first place, since China is not a member of the G8. Nor, for that matter, are most of the other 39 (thirty-nine!) heads of state, government and international organizations that are attending what Quentin Peel is calling "a monstrous gathering of literally thousands of officials and security staff and spin-doctors, not to mention the media circus that follows them."

In my view, the G8 has merit in its capacity to bring the leaders together, away from their staffers (and finance ministers) to discuss shared priorities. It is possible, albeit rare, to see real progress out of these fireside chats - but the Italians appear to have placed the emphasis on style over substance.

- The G8 aid priorities appear to be.... Africa? no. South America? no. The G8? yes. I know the G8 has promised in the past to help the Highly-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs), but Italy only meets most of the HIPC criteria (country, highly-indebted), not all of them.

- No big surprise here, but the focus of the G8 will be likely be on the economic crisis and "exit strategies" at the expense of other priorities like the environment.

UPDATE: Simon Johnson provides 3 reasons why the G8 leaders summit is becoming anarchronistic. His points are well taken, and he rightly acknowledges that the sub-leader-level meetings still have a purpose

Just when things couldn't possibly get worse in Zimbabwe, they tragically do. Zim's health minister has declared a national emergency, as a cholera outbreak has claimed the lives of at least 565 people. The UN estimates that more than 12,500 are infected, and given the water, sanitation, and medical situation in the country, the death toll may rise substantially. The WHO believes these estimates may be significantly lower than the actual figures.

The cholera outbreak not only underlines the collapse of the state under Mugabe, but the danger posed by the current deadlock in powersharing talks between Zanu-PF and the MDC. The country is in desperate need of a new government, and the foreign aid and assistance that will likely coincide with such a transition of power. Aid is essentially frozen in boycott of Mugabe, and a large part of the medical system's failure can be attributed to the brain drain and flight of skilled workers (including doctors and nurses) that Mugabe has instigated.

There is hope. The health minister's announcement coincided with perhaps the strongest condemnation of Mugabe by an African leader to date. Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has branded the powersharing talks "dead" and called on African governments to "push [Mugabe] out of power". However, as Odinga acknowledged, Mugabe basically serves at the will of the South African government, and only serious action by the ANC to push Mugabe out will succeed.

South Africa's cabinet has called an emergency meeting to discuss the deteriorating situation in Zim. It is time the ANC stood up and assumed the responsibility it has for the crisis to the north. Jacob Zuma and the African Union are confronted with an opportunity to rid Zim of Mugabe forever. It is their duty to turn the human devastation of the cholera outbreak into a new beginning for Zim and its people. They must act now.