The leaders of the G8 nations must take decisive action to halt spiralling rises in food and oil prices and to increase aid to developing nations the Secretary General of the United Nations has said.

In the run up to the G8 summit in Japan, presidents of nine Catholic Bishops’ Conferences have called on G8 nations to honour their commitments to reduce global poverty and tackle climate change.

With the G8 summit only one month away, the Pope has backed a call from a worldwide delegation of bishops to put poverty at the heart of the agenda.

Leaders of G8 countries must take the next steps to meet their commitments to end extreme poverty and stop AIDS' devastation in the developing world, Christian aid agency World Vision has said in a paper released for this week's meeting of government development ministers.