ST PETERSBURG, July 16: World leaders pledged on Sunday to keep Africa’s woes in mind and to track actively their progress on cutting poverty and supporting development, a move welcomed by campaigners.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair put assistance for Africa at the top of the agenda at the Group of Eight summit he hosted in 2005, but this year’s host Russia initially ignored the topic.

But Britain pushed for discussion on Africa in St Petersburg and the leaders agreed to review efforts to boost aid, cut debt and improve trading conditions for the continent at next year’s meeting in Germany.

“We will review progress, and identify the next steps to support Africa’s successful development” in Germany, the G8 said.

Africa will be debated at this year’s summit on Monday in a session including the G8, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the African Union.

Campaigners blame the on-again off-again attention of the outside world for the sometimes haphazard approach to relieving poverty in Africa and had worried that the blaze of publicity the continent got last year would vanish without lasting effect.

“Africa has not fallen off the agenda,” said a British official on Sunday.

“This makes it almost impossible not to have a progress report at future G8s.”

World leaders agreed more than 50 detailed recommendations from Britain’s Commission for Africa report last year and progress has been made in some areas, notably debt relief.

In the past year, 14 of the most heavily indebted countries in Africa have received full multilateral debt relief from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Nigeria had the biggest ever debt cancellation for an African nation.

Relief from burdensome debt payments in Cameroon, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia has already swelled spending on education, health and Aids.

Official aid to Africa increased by $25 billion although campaigners say the G8 as a whole was off target on promises to double aid to Africa by $50 billion by 2010.

A report by lobby group DATA also said much more was needed to provide access to drug therapy to fight HIV, the virus that causes Aids.

While most campaigners say not enough has been done to fulfil G8 pledges of assistance since last year they welcomed the formal commitment not to let Africa issues slip from sight.

“This is the first time they have agreed to return to Africa. It means it is on the agenda for Germany. That’s really, really critical,” said Max Lawson, policy adviser for aid group Oxfam.

British officials say that while progress has been made in easing debt burdens for some of the poorest African nations, more needs to be done to boost aid and getting a breakthrough in global trade talks is vital for alleviating poverty.

“The fact there have not been steps backward will be cold comfort for the 800 families in Africa who lost a child today because they couldn’t afford a doctor’s bill,” said Matt Phillips, head of campaigns for charity Save the Children.

“The G8 can and must act more urgently.”

Doha talks: Leaders of the Group of Eight major industrial countries on Sunday recommended a two-week extension for a deadline aimed at breaking the impasse over long-stalled global trade negotiations.

“We welcome the decision to ask the WTO director-general to consult members intensively in order to promote early agreement,” their statement said.

G8 leaders called on Pascal Lamy to consult with members to reach an agreement on agriculture and industry tariffs ‘within a month’.

“We call upon all countries to commit to the concerted leadership and action needed to reach a successful conclusion of the Doha round,” the negotiations aimed at reducing trade barriers to poor countries that were launched in 2001.

However, it was far from clear whether the call for negotiations would be embraced by the leaders of Brazil and India, who meet for talks with G8 leaders on Monday.

Both have been vocal in their insistence that the talks must include more concessions by rich nations to lower trade barriers on farm products produced by poor countries.

Commenting on the statement, an EU trade official speaking on condition of anonymity said that the leaders’ call ‘put a bit of fuel into the engine of the negotiations. ... That means giving Pascal Lamy not just a mandate for consultations to bring things together but also a date. And that’s what he has now.”—Reuters/AP