G8 nations are falling short of grand pledges they made at a summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, in 2005 to double aid to Africa by 2010. Western leaders are increasingly frustrated by Africa's lack of progress in tackling crises such as Darfur and Zimbabwe.
"I want to hold the G8 countries to their promise. When you sign a contract, you absolutely must stick to it," said Angelique Kidjo, a popular West African singer from Benin.
G8 aid to Africa will fall $40 billion (20 billion pounds) short of the Gleneagles pledge under current plans, according to a report last month by an Africa Progress Panel, which was set up to monitor implementation of the 2005 commitments.
But surging oil and food prices, an economic downturn in major G8 economies and tensions over world trade talks may push Africa down the agenda this time around.
Kidjo told Radio France International she and fellow anti-poverty campaigners like Irish rock stars Bono and Bob Geldof would be sending messages to G8 leaders - and they might even gate-crash the party at Hokkaido in Japan next week.
Geldof visited Sierra Leone last month to see for himself the impact of aid and private sector investment in the country ranked bottom of the most recent U.N. Human Development Index.
"While I'm no agriculture expert, something more has to be done here so that people are fed," Geldof said, describing Sierra Leone, part of what was once known as West Africa's 'Rice Coast' as "so green it makes Ireland look beige".
Geldof's prediction Africa would be "a giant economic power by 2040" might be a stretch, but there are reasons for optimism.
Japan, for example, has already met its Gleneagles pledges.
Sierra Leone will save $36 million this year thanks to debt relief, partly via a G8 scheme, and is using it to restore mains power which collapsed during a devastating 1991-2002 civil war.
But experts warn food inflation threatens to eat away at such progress as poor countries struggle to make ends meet.
"The rising cost of food must . play a central role during this year's G8, as currently 800 million of the poorest people on this planet cannot afford food because prices have risen by more than 40 percent," the Sierra Leone office of the British government's aid wing DfID said.
