"The G8 leaders should implement what they committed in Gleneagles by providing necessary funds," Ban told a press conference after the session, adding that Africa also demands better predictability in aid and aid efficiency.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (R) speaks at the UN-WB Joint Press Conference in Toyako, Hokkaido, Japan on July 7, 2008. The United Nations and World Bank held a joint press conference focusing on the global food and fuel crisis, climate change and progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Toyako on Monday. (Xinhua Photo)
A report issued last month by the Africa Progress Panel, which was set up to monitor the implementation of the Gleneagles commitments, said that under current spending plans, the G8 will fall 40 billion dollars short of its target.
The UN chief said this year marks the half-way point in the global efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, "but that progress in many African countries is not on track."
Speaking at the same press conference, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the leaders also discussed a system to better track the aid to ensure commitments were honored.
"Countries need to deliver on their promises, and that was the tone that was generally accepted in the discussion," he said.
Kazuo Kodama, press secretary of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, told reporters that African countries told the G8 leaders that they should "fully" implement the many aid promises made to Africa.
The African and G8 leaders also discussed surging oil and food prices, agricultural development in Africa, trade and investment and the Millennium Development Goals, he said.
