In the run-up to a G8 summit in St Petersburg on July 15-17, non-government organisations have rushed out a series of reports picking through the results behind the rhetoric.

In July last year at a summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, the leaders of Britain, Germany, the US, France, Canada, Italy, Japan and Russia agreed on a package of financial measures aimed at improving conditions in the developing world.

Key among them was a pledge to cut the debt crippling public finances of many developing nations. On this front at least, aid organisations give a moderately positive diagnosis.

In the last 12 months, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the African Development Bank have all cancelled multilateral debt worth 40 billion dollars (31 billion euros).

In a recent report by Oxfam, the aid group struck an upbeat note on the issue of debt cancellation and highlighted progress in African nations Zambia and Burundi, where debt cancellation has enabled improvements in basic health care and education.

Irish rock star Bob Geldof, who led the campaign to secure the G8 development package last year, echoed these sentiments at the end of last month in an update by his campaign group DATA.

The DATA report noted that the G8 was "on track" to meet its commitments on debt cancellation.

The report said that 19 of the world's poorest countries, including 14 nations in Africa, had already had their multilateral debts cancelled out of a total of 44 who were eligible.

However, DATA called for action on the other pillars of the G8 development package, namely aid and trade.