AFTER exceeding the UN-stipulated target of spending
at least 0.7% of its national income on Official Development Assistance
(ODA) for 35 years, the Netherlands has decided to tighten its belt and
reduce it from 0.81% last year to 0.7% by next fiscal.
Responding to global economic, social and political shifts, the Netherlands
is revising its approach to development co-operation, supporting the economic
self-reliance of developing countries. It is focussing on 4 priorities: security
and the rule of law, water, food security, and sexual and reproductive health.
It is also reducing the number of countries with which it works - from 33 to
15.
The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), which
groups the world’s major donors, welcomes the increased focus of Dutch aid,
but recommends that these changes should be made in consultation with both
the governments of developing countries and other donors. The DAC review also
notes that the shift in focus will demand new expertise among Dutch development
staff.
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