RUSUTSU, Japan - Eight of the world's wealthiest countries have waffled on sending more aid dollars to Africa, and instead will defer a decision until the fall on additional assistance to the poorest of continents, The Canadian Press has learned.

The draft text of a communique on development shows the G8 leaders were poised to increase assistance to Africa over and above a past pledge to double aid by 2010.

But for some reason they backed off a firm commitment.

Stricken from the draft text is a sentence that read: "We further commit ourselves to increasing ODA from G8 countries to Africa beyond 2010." ODA stands for official development assistance.

In its place is another that reads: "We acknowledge that ODA from G8 and other donors to Africa should be reassessed and may need to be increased for the period after 2010, beyond our current commitments."

The G8 leaders will wait until a high-level United Nations meeting in September before coming to a decision on future African aid, the draft text says.

Among other highlights of the draft text are:

-Reiterated support for a commitment that all children have access to basic health care by 2015;

-A promise to take "concrete steps" to make clear the link between HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health;

-A vow to "reinvigorate" efforts to address the issue of clean drinking water.

The G8 leaders spent Monday at a so-called "outreach" working session with the heads of eight African countries and the chair of the African Union Commission.

Aid group Oxfam International said Monday evening that G8 negotiators were working late into the night, reportedly deadlocked on the issue of aid promises to Africa.

The G8 made a lofty, US$50-billion pledge at the 2005 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, to double aid to developing countries by 2010. Half of that aid was earmarked for Africa.

Oxfam said the text of the development communique lacks a reiteration of the Gleneagles promises.

"We must see the $50-billion aid promise back in the communique," Oxfam spokesman Max Lawson said in a statement.

"With entire communities reeling from the rapid increase in food prices, aid must go up, not down. These late night negotiations will be a test of Japanese leadership and G8 resolve."

G8 leaders reassured their African counterparts during Monday's round of meetings they would deliver on the promises made at Gleneagles, said a senior Canadian official.

But there was also a realization around the table that "Africa had to meet G8 countries halfway" when it comes to good governance and the effective use of aid dollars, the official added.

"The focus was also not so much on more dollars, but on implementing current plans."

The draft text says the G8 will work together with African countries to promote a "participatory approach" in dealing with issues involving health, clean water and education.

Earlier Monday, international aid groups said Canada should send more money to Africa amid a global food crisis that threatens widespread starvation on the world's poorest continent.

Mark Fried of Oxfam Canada said the Canadian government sits at the bottom half of donors within the Group of Eight - along with Japan, Italy and France - in the aid money it gives to Africa.

NDP Leader Jack Layton said Africans have a right to feel betrayed in the same way Canadians should.

"Clearly these commitments weren't worth the paper they were written on," Layton told The Canadian Press on Monday, in reaction to the release of the draft text.

The Prime Minister's Office insisted Monday that Canada is on pace to double its assistance to Africa from the 2003-04 level, bringing aid to $2.1 billion by the end of this fiscal year.

International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda has said it's not just how much money is pledged, but whether the dollars actually translate into action on the ground.

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