$120 bn given to developing countries

Donors, international agencies and specialized funds provide nearly US$120 billion to developing countries in development and humanitarian aid per year. This was revealed in Accra, Ghana on Tuesday 2008 during the Third High Level Forum (HLF) on Aid Effectiveness. The three-day conference on improving the quality and impact of development assistance gathered over 1,200 representatives of governments of aid- receiving countries, donor institutions, foundations, parliaments, and civil society organizations. According to a press statement from World Bank, the aid involves private contributions adding a further US$20 – 25 billion. Donors, governments, and citizens of donor and recipient countries alike expect this assistance to be used as effectively as possible. “At the root of all we do is the shared conviction that we must transform the way in which we deliver and use the scarce resources in our trust,” said DonaldKaberuka, President of the African Development Bank. The purpose of the meeting in Accra is for the development community to review and hold itself accountable for progress on the Paris commitments. The monitoring process has revealed areas of substantial progress, and some in which further progress is urgently needed. The meeting will examine the results achieved so far, discuss obstacles to implementation, exchange experiences, and identify ways to make greater progress on aid effectiveness. In 2005– during the previous meeting– over 100 countries and agencies endorsed the Paris Declaration, committing to carry out specific actions to improve the effectiveness with which donors provide, and countries use, development funds. In a telephone interview with the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, James Musoni, who is in Accra said Rwanda has improved because aid policy was established which sets a clear frame work to increase aid effectiveness. “Our aid policy stipulates the Paris declaration– to have the aid aligned with national priorities– and Rwanda is among the few countries that have channeled aid through budget support,” Musoni said. The Paris Declaration contained also a target to have reliable public finance management systems to be achieved in 2010, and according to Musoni, Rwanda achieved the target this year. The Paris Declaration calls for developing countries to play the lead role in determining their development strategies, organizing the programs and processes to realize those strategies. It also supports building effective partnerships that include all development actors developing and middle-income countries, donor countries, the UN and multilateral institutions, global funds, civil society organizations, and the private sector; and enhance the delivery of development results of improvements in the lives of poor people. Ends

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$120 bn given to developing countries