Africa shared top billing with climate change at last year's Group of Eight summit, but the global financial crisis has since undermined developed nations' efforts to meet the financial commitments they made to the continent.
Advocacy groups say assistance from the G8 is needed more than ever. Africa has been badly affected by the financial meltdown, with economies dragged down by high food and fuel prices, as well as declines in private capital and remittances from overseas.
The presence of the G8 — the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia — in the area of development risks is declining at a time when Brazil, China and India are playing an increasingly prominent role in assisting Africa in terms of aid and technological support.