A disappointing summit: Despite headline announcements of increased funding for HIV and AIDS, and some progress, the G8 summit, held in Germany from 6 to 8 June, was a disappointment.

The G8 failed to deliver the clear annual timetables necessary to increase their aid to the levels promised in Gleneagles last year. There was a reiteration of the pledge made at Gleneagles of a $50 billion increase in aid by 2010, half of which would go to Africa.

The announcement of a commitment of $60 billion for HIV and AIDS, Tuberculosis, and malaria was a vague headline figure, not least because the time it covers varies from five years in the case of the USA to 10 years in the case of Italy. It was also not clear how much of that figure includes existing commitments, and how much is actually new money.

G8 leaders' agreement to demand higher levels of intellectual property protection could undermine the benefits of extra money by pushing up prices for essential medicines in the developing world and denying poor people access to inexpensive generic medicines. In addition, the G8 should have delivered specific funds to pay for the 4.25m health workers needed worldwide, and also agreed on an international co-ordination mechanism to fund country health plans to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare. Under duress, donors recognised the financing gap the education Fast Track Initiative, but made no concrete commitments.

On climate change, Oxfam welcomed the G8's affirmation of its commitment to a UN process to negotiate a post-Kyoto deal after 2012, and the pledge to make 'substantial emission reductions'. However, the climate change text fell well short of what is required for rapid and sustainable mitigation of pollution, and to protect the poorest and most vulnerable people, who are already suffering from the impacts of climate change, and it also lacked specific numerical targets. There was also no commitment to keep global warming below 2C.

Overall this has been a disappointing summit. It is a travesty that instead of increasing aid, most of the G8 countries chose to repackage existing commitments and give them a new gloss.