THE year 2010 saw a hike of 6.5% over 2009 in the total Development
Assistance of OECD countries totalling USD 129 bn. This represents about 0.32%
of the combined gross national income (GNI) of DAC member countries. While the
2010 figures demonstrate a commitment to the neediest countries, they also
confirm that some donors are not meeting targets they set at Gleneagles and
other fora.
In 2010, the United States, the United Kingdom, France,
Germany and Japan were the largest donors of official development assistance
(ODA) in terms of volume. EU countries that are members of the DAC provided a
combined total of USD 70.2 billion, representing 54% of total net ODA provided
by DAC donors. Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden continued
to exceed the United Nations ODA target of 0.7% of GNI. The largest increases in
real terms in ODA between 2009 and 2010 were recorded by Australia, Belgium,
Canada, Japan, Korea, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
Looking ahead, a
recent OECD survey shows that most donors plan to increase aid over the coming 3
years, though at a sharply reduced pace. Aid will grow at 2% per year between
2011 and 2013, compared to the average 8% per year over the past three years.
Aid to Africa is likely to rise by just 1% per year in real terms, compared to
the average 13% over the past three years. At this rate, any additional aid to
the African countries will be outpaced by population growth.
|
