"The sums that rich countries invest in global poverty reduction are shamefully small. At an average of US$80 per person per year in rich countries, the sum is equivalent to the price of a weekly cup of coffee," Oxfam said in a recent report.
The Sub-Saharan African nations, among the world's poorest, had a total external debt of about US$191.3 billion at the end of 2002, according to data from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Britain, which assumed the presidency of the Group of Eight rich nations (G8), has said it is eager to tackle Africa's economic woes and wants its allies within the G8 to agree to multilateral debt relief, set a timetable for raising development aid to 0.7 percent of national income and sign up to a scheme to double Third World aid.
Barbara Stocking, director of Oxfam, said the crisis reinforces the need for the world to double aid spending, cut the debt of poorest nations and help them break out of poverty.
"This meeting is an opportunity for the G8 countries to show they have the ambition and drive to make this happen," she said.
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