Christian Aid week kicked off on Monday with a renewed call for action to tackle poverty and disease in Africa.

In an open letter to Tony Blair and other G8 leaders, the charity called for "genuinely selfless aid" to the region.

The "Listen to Africa" campaign is stressing that nearly 600 million people will be living in extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa by 2016.

Daleep Mukarji, the director of Christian Aid, says the West must recognise its responsibilities.

"In these days of greater global interdependence, rich, industrialised countries must realise that Africa's problems are also their problems," he said. "While we in the West have benefited from huge advances in technology and greater wealth, in some parts of Africa things are getting worse.

"Just being born in sub-Saharan Africa means you'll live on average nearly 29 years less than if you were born in the UK.''

The charity is calling on governments to honour their commitment to increase aid to 0.7 per cent of national wealth.

Bob Geldof hoped to raise the game when he presented a report on poverty in Africa to the prime minister at Downing Street.

The report said that the G8 nations must increase the aid effort and must move to tackle conflicts such as that sweeping through the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"For this to happen, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organisation and the governments of donor countries like Britain, simply must 'Listen to Africa'," said the open letter.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo aid agencies have seen the increasing breakdown of law and order. Millions of people have been displaced by the conflict and HIV is reaching pandemic proportions.

The report also warned the G8 leaders against giving tied-aid. It stresses that any long-term solution must improve the local industry.