Global aid 'failing poor nations'
Global aid 'failing poor nations'
Only one-fifth of global aid is actually going to the world's poorest countries, say humanitarian agencies.
Oxfam and ActionAid, in a joint report, accuse the wealthiest nations of failing the poor with a "self-serving and hypocritical" system of aid.
They say up to 40% of aid is "tied", forcing developing countries to buy overpriced goods from donor countries.
The report calls for reforms, as international development ministers meet in Paris to discuss global aid.
"Our report tells a sorry tale of muddle and hypocrisy, dithering and stalling, with the world's poor cast unwittingly in the role of fall guys," says Patrick Watt, ActionAid's policy officer.
"If ministers in Paris fail to take the steps needed to make aid more effective, the UN's anti-poverty targets may end up as museum pieces in the Louvre."
The targets were set in 2000, as part of the UN Millennium Development Goals, to reduce global poverty by 2015.
Ministers meeting in Paris this week for the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conference will discuss progress of the goals.
But the report claims that wealthy nations are failing to deliver on their pledges.
It says just one-fifth of aid actually goes to the poorest countries - and only a half of that is spent on basic services such as health and education.
The agencies accuse rich countries of "using aid to reward strategic allies and pet projects at the expense of the neediest countries".
And they say that about 80 official agencies handle distribution of aid, generating a huge administrative burden.
The agencies are calling on ministers meeting in Paris to consider allowing their aid to be monitored by the OECD.
"You hear a lot of talk about the need for 'good governance' and 'accountability' in developing countries - it's time rich countries applied the same strict standards to themselves," said Max Lawson, Oxfam's Policy Adviser.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/4305169.stm
Published: 2005/02/28 15:08:28 GMT
© BBC MMV
Only one-fifth of global aid is actually going to the world's poorest countries, say humanitarian agencies.
Oxfam and ActionAid, in a joint report, accuse the wealthiest nations of failing the poor with a "self-serving and hypocritical" system of aid.
They say up to 40% of aid is "tied", forcing developing countries to buy overpriced goods from donor countries.
The report calls for reforms, as international development ministers meet in Paris to discuss global aid.
"Our report tells a sorry tale of muddle and hypocrisy, dithering and stalling, with the world's poor cast unwittingly in the role of fall guys," says Patrick Watt, ActionAid's policy officer.
"If ministers in Paris fail to take the steps needed to make aid more effective, the UN's anti-poverty targets may end up as museum pieces in the Louvre."
The targets were set in 2000, as part of the UN Millennium Development Goals, to reduce global poverty by 2015.
Ministers meeting in Paris this week for the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conference will discuss progress of the goals.
But the report claims that wealthy nations are failing to deliver on their pledges.
It says just one-fifth of aid actually goes to the poorest countries - and only a half of that is spent on basic services such as health and education.
The agencies accuse rich countries of "using aid to reward strategic allies and pet projects at the expense of the neediest countries".
And they say that about 80 official agencies handle distribution of aid, generating a huge administrative burden.
The agencies are calling on ministers meeting in Paris to consider allowing their aid to be monitored by the OECD.
"You hear a lot of talk about the need for 'good governance' and 'accountability' in developing countries - it's time rich countries applied the same strict standards to themselves," said Max Lawson, Oxfam's Policy Adviser.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/4305169.stm
Published: 2005/02/28 15:08:28 GMT
© BBC MMV
posted by JimG at 2:41 PM
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