G8 2005: a missed opportunity for global health

The Lancet: "This year people in bars and at football matches were asking about the Group of 8 (G8) nations summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. Such unprecedented popular interest was prompted by Bob Geldof's Live 8 concerts and the Make Poverty History campaign. These initiatives were organised to raise awareness about African poverty and to pressure politicians into tackling the preventable global burden of disease afflicting billions of people living in low-income settings. When asked if his lobbying had paid off, Geldof said, “A great justice has been done”. He should have said “No”. While the concerts were successful as entertainment and the Make Poverty History campaign certainly raised awareness, they failed as political levers for change."