The West's foot-dragging over aid pledges to Africa was described last night as "grotesque" and a threat to the lives of the world's poor

In 2005, G8 pledged $50bn for Africa. Now the reality - Guardian

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"The west's foot-dragging over aid pledges to Africa was described last night as "grotesque" and a threat to the lives of the world's poor by the body set up by Tony Blair to monitor the results of Britain's Gleneagles summit.

Almost two years after the G8 group of leading industrial nations promised to boost development assistance by $50bn a year by 2010, the Africa Progress Panel headed by the former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said rich countries were only 10% of the way to their target.
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"If the efforts to double aid by 2010 are not increased soon it will be too late," Mr Annan said as the APP presented its findings in Berlin to the prime minister and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who will host this year's G8 summit in early June.

Mr Annan said the commitment to doubling aid had fallen year on year since Gleneagles. "In 2005 we did well, by 2006 we were sliding, and unless we now make about $5bn available a year we will not make that target," he said.

Bob Geldof, the musician and lobbyist who also sits on the APP, said the promises of "economic justice" made at Gleneagles, on which Mr Blair had staked his legacy as prime minister, were in danger of collapsing. This amounted to a "grotesque abrogation of responsibility"."