DEVELOPMENT aid flows to the poorest countries
continues to fall, according to official data collected by the OECD Development
Assistance Committee (DAC). Bilateral aid to the least-developed countries
fell by 16% in real terms to USD 25 billion. The drop is attributed to
exceptionally high debt relief for Myanmar in 2013, but even excluding
debt relief, ODA to the poorest countries fell by 8%. Bilateral aid is
channelled directly by donors to partner countries and equates to roughly
two-thirds of total Official Development Assistance (ODA) .
Official Development Assistance from DAC members was USD 135.2 billion, almost at par with a record USD 135.1 billion in 2013. Net ODA as a share of gross national income was 0.29%, also on par with 2013.
The OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said it was encouraging to see development aid at a high when donor countries are still emerging from the toughest economic crisis of our lifetime. The challenge for post-2015 development goals will be to find ways to get more of this aid to the countries that need it most and to stretch every dollar spent.
A survey of aid donor countries' spending plans indicates that country-level aid to the poorest countries should recover over the next few years after several years of decline, in line with the decision by DAC member countries in December 2014 to reverse the declining trend in aid to countries most in need.
ODA remains crucial for the poorest countries, according to DAC Chair Erik Solheim, who said that we must reverse the trend of declining aid to the least-developed countries. OECD ministers recently committed to provide more development assistance to the countries most in need and that commitment must be met, he added.
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