Oxfam activists, campaigners and local people gathered in Auchterarder, Perthshire, today [Saturday], for an event to mark the anniversary of the Gleneagles G8, which was held in the village five years ago.

In a new Oxfam Scotland briefing paper 'The Auchterader Audit: Gleneagles G8 Five Years On' launched at the event, the aid agency took stock of the promises made at Gleneagles, those kept and those broken, and called on world leaders meeting at this year's G8 in Canada to Make Broken Promises History.

In 2005, a quarter of a million people took to the streets of Edinburgh and thousands more marched around the world demanding world leaders meeting in Gleneagles Make Poverty History. The G8 responded by pledging to increase overseas aid by $50 billion by 2010, with $25 billion of this going to Africa. But five years on, the year the promises are due, the Auchterarder Audit shows that they have come up $20 billion short. In addition, only $11 billion of the $25 billion promised to Africa has made it to the continent.

In particular, The Auchterarder Audit shows that France, Germany, Italy and Japan have all failed to find the money they promised to help the poor. Italy is the worst offender. Canada has also fallen short, but it is close to hitting the very low target it pledged. The UK is almost on track to meet its 2010 promises, and is close to reaching its commitment of 0.7 per cent of GDP going to overseas aid by 2013, recently ring-fenced in the UK government's emergency budget. The United States is the only country to have met their promise, which was a meagre 0.2 per cent of GDP in aid, which is a far cry from the UN target of 0.7 per cent.

In the Auchterarder Audit, Oxfam also accuses the G8 of 'cooking the books' in their own accountability report by revising down their $50 billion target to $46 billion to take account of shrinking G8 economies due the financial crisis. They then calculated their commitment in 2009 dollars, rather than the 2004 dollars they promised which are worth much more.

Malcolm Fleming, Oxfam Scotland's Campaigns Manager who spoke at the event in Auchterarder, said:

"Today in Auchterarder near Gleneagles, we are holding world leaders to account. The Auchterarder Audit shows that the G8 has broken its promises to the world's poorest people. It's now time for the G8 to Make Broken Promises History and deliver an emergency plan to come up the full $50 billion by 2012.

"Where aid has been delivered - an increase of $28 billion according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - lives have been saved and there have been some incredible results.

"But the £20 billion shortfall would have been enough to put every child in school or stop millions of children dying of malaria.

Even more scandalous is that only $11 billion of the $25 billion promised to Africa has made it there. This is the poorest continent on earth, yet the G8 has failed to do more here than for the rest of the world. As people face severe hunger and malnutrition once again in Niger, this shortfall is costing lives."

Chikondi Mpokosa, Oxfam Global Education Adviser from Malawi who also spoke at the event in Auchterarder, said:

"Where aid has been delivered and debts been cancelled, it has made a massive difference to reducing poverty. In my country Malawi, for example, debt relief has allowed us to train 10,000 more teachers.

But each dollar the G8 has failed to provide has meant a child without schooling, a patient without medicine, a woman dying in childbirth. G8 leaders must look beyond their own economic struggles and set out how they will fulfil these promises made in 2005."

Kumi Naidoo, co-chair of Global Call to Action Against Poverty, who was a key player Make Poverty History in 2005, spoke from the G8 in Canada. He said:

"At Gleneagles in 2005 I said that the people roared, but the G8 whispered. Five years on, that whisper is barely audible, yet the roar against poverty and injustice is louder than ever.

"The G8 meeting in Canada must face the fact they haven't even managed to meet those whispered promises. Meanwhile, across the developing world, 1000 women die every day from complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

Leaders must set out how they are going to mend these broken promises, allowing mothers to survive childbirth, children to attend school and people of all ages greater access to medicines and healthcare."

Webcast highlights from the Auchterarder Audit can be watched again online at Oxfam Scotland on USTREAM

The briefing paper can be viewed on Oxfam Scotland's Google Docs