The Africa Commission holds final meeting
Bob Geldof says The Africa Commission isn't all talk. The singer-songwriter — best known for organizing Live Aid, the '80s musical event that raised millions of dollars to fight the famine in Ethiopia — is a prominent member of the commission, headed by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
According to the BBC, The Africa Commission is holding its final meeting in London today.
The commission hopes to secure more aid for Africa as well as fairer trade and less debt. The BBC also speculated that the commission would also demand a much tougher line on corruption in Africa. All of this is in the hopes of taking Africa in a new direction for the 21st century.
For Tony Blair, the commission is a political boon. According to the BBC, Blair has promised to make Africa one of the priorities of Britain's presidency of the G8 group of rich nations. The G8 group — comprised of the leaders of eight of the richest nations in the world: USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and, from 1998, Russia — meets in Scotland this July.
