ActionAid has released new evidence that the G8 has been frittering away desperately needed money to fight poverty and hunger on dubious projects that include navy patrol boats in Nicaragua, odour control from food processing factories in Germany and biofuels production in South Africa. These findings come just one week before the G8 summit in Canada, where world leaders are expected to grapple with the realities of a new economic regime.

The anti-poverty charity's briefing 'The $20 billion question: has the G8 delivered on its hunger promises' argues that as the world, including the UK, is tightening its belt, every penny must be spent appropriately so that vital G8 money reaches the poorest.

Meredith Alexander, Head of G8 policy at ActionAid said: "Last year we applauded the G8 for pledging over $20 billion for agriculture to fight hunger in Africa. A promise  is a promise - now the bill is due.

"Rich countries cannot honestly expect the world to believe that giving boats to the Nicaraguan navy or investing in biofuels in Africa will put food into the mouths of hungry people or help save the lives of the 4.4 million children who die because of hunger-related illnesses every year."

Whilst the G8 promised an impressive $20 billion at last year's summit to help poor countries end hunger, there is still no official information on how much of this money has been delivered, or how it will be spent. Even worse, overall aid levels to agriculture have not risen as a result of the pledge. The UK has managed to find some more money and the US has come forward with a significant increase in aid for hunger but these have been offset by cuts from others such as the EU, Japan and Italy.

With child and maternal mortality expected to be high on the agenda this year, ActionAid also warns that unless the G8 deliver on their food promise, it is unlikely they can tackle shocking death rates among women and children in poor countries.  Hunger and malnutrition contributes to one in five maternal deaths and over half of all child deaths annually. 

Meredith Alexander continued: "Preventing deaths amongst children and mothers needs more than just increasing the number of doctors and nurses.  Malnurioushed children are twelve times more likely to die from easily preventable diseases. If G8 leaders truly want to make a difference they should focus on delivering on past promises."

In the face of the biggest spending cuts in a generation, efficient and effective aid to the world’s most vulnerable people is more important than ever. One solution backed by ActionAid is the Robin Hood Tax – a tiny tax of only 0.05% on financial transactions. It could raise hundreds of billions of pounds globally for essential lifelines like helping smallholder farmers in Africa to feed themselves and their children as well as supporting vital public services in the UK such as the NHS.

Ask Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell to tackle hunger at this year's UN summit