Religious leaders in the US have put aside theological and political differences ahead of the G8 summit in Scotland next week and joined forces against global poverty and hunger, especially in Africa.

Amid frustration with their own government’s lack of movement on the issue of aid and debt relief, religious leaders are hoping that the other nations participating in the summit will be able to convince President Bush and Congress to up their financial commitment to ending global poverty.

The Reverend Jim Wallis, director of the Christian ministry Sojourners, said "For the first time in history we have the knowledge, resources, information, and technology to end extreme poverty. And there is a moral, spiritual, and political convergence on this issue."

More than a dozen leaders from Evangelical, Protestant, and Catholic churches, as well as faith-based humanitarian groups visited the White House on Monday to put forward their plea. They want Congress to provide full aid packages already promised by the President, but also to increase the annual aid budget to be increased by US$2 billion.

The group, which also includes Ron Sider, author of ‘Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger’, is currently in the UK to meet Gordon Brown and to participate in a two-day forum being held at Lambeth Palace, the headquarters and residence of Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury. Part of the agenda at the forum is the Make Poverty History campaign.