The G8 also renewed a commitment made two years ago to increase other aid to Africa by 50 billion dollars a year by 2010. Aid groups had strongly criticised the world's wealthy nations for not following up promises made at their 2005 summit in Gleneagles.

South African President Thabo Mbeki and Chinese President Hu Jintao were among leaders from emerging nations who were in the Baltic resort of Heiligendamm for talks with G8 leaders expected to focus on aid for the developing world.

Summit host German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the plan to give 60 billion dollars (44.8 billion euros) to Africa to combat AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

"We are aware of our obligations and would like to fulfil promises," Merkel said as she announced the G8 health aid package and the renewed commitment to find general aid.

Ghana's President John Kufuor said: "Africa expects the G8 to deliver on promises. And on Africa's part we are committed to also deliver so that we can be real partners."

Celebrity campaigners led by U2 rock singer Bono have been in Heiligendamm to lobby the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States over Africa.

US President George W. Bush, who was sick and missed the morning session, unveiled the main thrust of the AIDS initiative in May and the figure included 30 billion dollars already earmarked by Washington.

Bush was laid low by a suspected stomach virus. He held one morning meeting with France's President Nicolas Sarkozy in his hotel suite. But the White House said his condition was "not serious" and that he would go ahead with plans to head for Poland later in the day.

"President Bush is slightly indisposed this morning and will rejoin the working meeting as soon as he can," Sarkozy said after an hour-long discussion with Bush.

After the G8 leaders struck a face-saving deal on climate change Thursday, attention on the final day of the summit turned to how the richest nations can assist Africa and work with emerging powers from the so-called "Plus Five" group -- Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa.

Leaders of the five nations held talks in Berlin on Thursday and said they wanted their "different capacities and interests" taken into consideration when tackling climate change, reflecting the view of China and India that imposing emissions cuts would restrict their booming economic growth.

The climate accord worked out by the G8 -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States -- was dismissed by environmental groups as an empty gesture, but many observers hailed the pact for finally tying the United States to the goal of fighting global warming.

The G8 agreed to pursue major cuts to dangerous greenhouse gas pollution and said they would "seriously consider" the goal of halving global emissions by 2050.

Although Merkel said she was "very satisfied" with the deal, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair called it "a major, major step forward", global warming campaigners said it came up far too short.

"The deal is clearly not enough to prevent dangerous climate change" said Daniel Mittler, climate policy advisor of Greenpeace International.

"The US isolation in refusing to accept binding emission cuts has become blindingly obvious at this meeting."

But the UN's top environmental official welcomed the agreement, saying it gave fresh impetus to talks for a successor to the Kyoto Protocol -- the emissions-cutting pact which runs out in 2012 -- and spells out that any deal should be global and come under the auspices of the UN.

"Very recently, (the United States) indicated that it was too early, it was premature to begin negotiations on a post-2012 climate change regime, so that's a very clear shift," said Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The summit on Thursday also saw Russian President Vladimir Putin call for Russia and the United States to share a base to detect missile attacks.

The startling proposal was a bid to overcome a crisis over US plans to locate a missile defence system in eastern Europe.

Putin proposed after talks with Bush that the two former Cold War foes use a Russian base in Azerbaijan.

Russia has angrily opposed the US plan for a shield system in Poland and the Czech Republic and Putin has threatened to aim Russian missiles at European targets if it was deployed.