7 September 2008
analysis
Washington, DC — "Efforts to step up official development assistance (ODA) have suffered a setback. In 2007, the only countries to reach or exceed the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of their gross national income (GNI) were Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. ... when weighted by the size of their economies, total net aid flows from the DAC members represented only 0.28 per cent of their combined national income. ,,,. net ODA (in constant prices) dropped by 4.7 per cent in 2006 and a further 8.4 per cent in 2007." - UN Millennium Development Goals Gap Task Force Report
After increases in aid in the period 1997 to 2005, aid flows -- already inadequate to meet needs for development in the context of the slumping world economy -- are dropping again, This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains excerpts from the just-released United Nations report tracking international commitments to meet development goals. The conclusion, in understated diplomatic language, is that "while there has been progress on many fronts, the delivery on commitments has been deficient and has fallen behind schedule."
This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains excerpts from the task force report. Another AfricaFocus Bulletin sent out today (http://www.africafocus.org/docs08/aid0809b.php) poses more critical questions, with excerpts from a new book by Yash Tandon on "Ending Aid Dependence" and statements from civil society groups at the just-concluded Accra "High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness."
For the full MGD Gap Task Force Report and related documentation, http://www.un.org/esa/policy/mdggap
For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on aid, global public investment, and related issues, visit
http://www.africafocus.org/aidexp.php
Announcement
Welcome back to AfricaFocus readers after several weeks break.
There is of course a large backlog of topics to be covered - - I won't get to them all of course, but I will cover as many as possible while still keeping to an average number of Bulletins per month of 6 to 8. For more in-depth coverage you can always use http://www.africafocus.org as your starting point, for news, analysis, and, now, for a rapidly growing AfricaFocus Bookshop.
More on the bookshop in coming weeks. For now, just a sampling of new features:
* More featured books, including the just-released House on Sugar Beach (http://www.africafocus.org/books/afbooks.php or http://www.africafocus.org/books/afbooks_uk.php)
* Books by AfricaFocus subscribers (http://www.africafocus.org/books/subscribers.php). If you don't see your book and it's available on Amazon, let me know and I'll fix the omission.
* Listing and search of Africa books publishers and distributors (http://www.africafocus.org/books/publishers.php)
* 100 best Africa books of the 20th century (http://www.africafocus.org/books/100best.php)
and more countries and themes, and still growing.
Delivering on the Global Partnership for Achieving the Millennium Development Goals
United Nations New York, 2008
MDG Gap Task Force Report 2008
http://www.un.org/esa/policy/mdggap
Preface
In September 2000, at the United Nations Millennium Summit, world leaders agreed to a set of time-bound and measurable goals and targets for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women, and placed them at the heart of the global agenda. World leaders have repeatedly confirmed their commitment to the goals, and to consolidating a global partnership that would improve the lives of poor people around the world within the timespan of one generation.
We have now passed the midpoint between the adoption of the goals and the target date of 2015. There has been progress, but in most parts of the world much more needs to be done. With respect to the eighth goal to create a global partnership for development Member States have made concrete commitments focusing in particular on the areas of trade, official development assistance, external debt, essential medicines and technology. Such steps are important in their own right but would also provide critical support for attaining the other goals.
A number of United Nations inter-agency processes track whether goals one to seven are being met at both the global and national levels. But it has proved more difficult to assess whether the global partnership for development is being put in place, and whether international commitments are being fulfilled. For this reason, in 2007 I created the MDG Gap Task Force to consolidate all the available information regarding delivery on those commitments.
This first report of the Task Force makes clear that while there has been progress on many fronts, the delivery on commitments has been deficient and has fallen behind schedule. A shared future for all will not be possible without globally concerted action and strong partnerships. At this midpoint in our work towards meeting the 2015 deadline, it is essential that all partners accelerate their efforts to deliver on the promises they have made.
Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Executive summary
The MDG Gap Task Force has assessed the global commitments contained in the framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ratified by Governments at the various international events that followed the Millennium Summit. ...
The main message of the present report is that while there has been progress on several counts, important gaps remain in delivering on the global commitments in the areas of aid, trade, debt relief, and access to new technologies and affordable essential medicines. The weakening of the world economy and the steep rises in food and energy prices threaten to reverse some of the progress made in the various dimensions of human development. Strengthened global partnerships are needed to avoid any reversal of progress made thus far. In the countdown to 2015, urgent responses are needed to bridge the existing implementation gaps and deliver on the promises to achieve the MDGs.
Official development assistance
There is a large delivery gap in meeting commitments towards the MDG target of addressing the special needs of the least developed countries [and to provide] more generous official development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction.
Efforts to step up official development assistance (ODA) have suffered a setback. In 2007, the only countries to reach or exceed the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of their gross national income (GNI) were Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The average effort by the 22 member countries of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was just 0.45 per cent of GNI, but when weighted by the size of their economies, total net aid flows from the DAC members represented only 0.28 per cent of their combined national income. ,,,. Aid flows climbed steadily from 1997, reaching a peak of $107 billion in 2005, boosted by exceptional debt relief in that year. Thereafter, net ODA (in constant prices) dropped by 4.7 per cent in 2006 and a further 8.4 per cent in 2007. ...
The 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness represents the most comprehensive effort to date to improve aid coordination and alignment with national priorities. Slow progress has been made in meeting the Paris targets for 2010 that were set in 2005. The Accra High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness that will take place in September 2008 will provide an opportunity for accelerating efforts to improve the predictability of aid, and for reducing aid fragmentation and high transaction costs in the administration of aid resources. Further progress is also needed in reducing the degree of aid tied to the purchase of goods and services in donor countries and in improving alignment of aid flows with national budgets, thus broadening the policy space for countries to define their own development priorities.
In recent years, non-DAC donors, developing country donors and private funds have increased the availability of financial resources for development. Partial records of total ODA from nonDAC countries estimate an increase (in constant prices) from $1.5 billion in 2000 to $5.1 billion in 2006. Additional efforts will have to be made to improve dialogue and coordination with these new stakeholders to avoid further aid fragmentation and increasing transaction costs among recipient countries. ...
Be the first to Write a Comment!
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
