The leaders of the world's richest countries were accused today of falling short of their own ambitious plans to help Africa despite announcing an eye-catching $60 billion to fight Aids and other diseases in the developing world.

G8 leaders met with African presidents and prime ministers on the final day of their summit in Germany and formally re-committed to the goals of the Gleneagles summit in 2005, which, under Tony Blair's leadership, promised to double aid to Africa by 2010.

But aid agencies and campaigners were quick to point out that a pledge in the final G8 communique today to spend $60 billion on Aids, TB, malaria and improving health systems "over the coming years" showed that the elite club of nations was at best treading water on previous commitments.

Among them was Bono, the Irish rock star and social activist who, on a visit to the summit today, accused the G8 leaders of hiding behind “bureaubabble”.

It’s Grrrrr8 (honest)

As the G8 summit begins in Germany, Hugo Rifkind explains everything you need to know – and lots of stuff you don’t

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"G8 leaders say they are serious about keeping their promises fom 2005 but today they have made their job seriously harder," Bono told a news conference. "They say $60 billion for AIDS, TB and malaria and it sounds great, but that's not earmarked for Africa - it's a global figure and there is no timeline."

He added: “It’s called a communique but it seems to have been deliberately designed not to communicate the real facts. Do they think we can’t read or count? We are looking for accountable language and accountable numbers. We didn’t get them today."

Health aid to developing nations is already running at $14 billion a year, which means that today's headline-grabbing sum will be reached in under five years without any extra resources.

G8 countries are this year also running $8 billion short of another Gleneagles goal, to give $50 billion extra in aid for the world's developing countries by 2010.

Patrick Watt, an analyst for ActionAid, said: "Effectively the G8 can meet today's commitment by treading water. There has been a massaging down of expectations since Gleneagles."

Steve Cockburn of the Stop Aids Campaign, said: "This effectively falls far short of what Gleneagles promised. They have put a cap on their ambition and that will cost lives."

Despite the row over the headline figure, the G8 did galvanise the world's major economies into making some new pledges.

The United States announces $30 billion to combat HIV/Aids up to 2013, the European Union announced an extra 500 million euros for the Global Fund for Aids and Italy agreed to make up its share of the shortfall in aid funding.

Mr Blair, who had championed help forAfrica and pushed for the best outcome of this year's G8 despite its focus on climate change, talked up his legacy this morning as he prepared to leave.

"The important thing about what we have agreed today is that we have committed ourselves to all the commitments we made a couple of years ago at Gleneages, but more importantly, we have set out how we are going to do them, for example $60 billion on help for HIV Aids and a major initiative on education."

An EU spokesman said: "It was not really a summit for new pledges but for consolidating existing pledges and being accountable. Gleneagles set a very determined ambition. But Africa is not only about aid, trade is also important and the EU is genuinely committed to give tariff-free and quota-free access for Africa to our markets.

"Climate change is one thing that would hit Africa hardest of all places in the world, so an ambitious solution to climate change is also an ambitious solution for Africa."

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