PHA-Exchange> Rich countries not contributing 0.7% to ODA (3)

[Claudio]

MessaggioFrom: sunil.deepak at aifo.it 

Information about the development aid of developed countries should be available from the webpage of OECD countries:
http://www.oecd.org/
On this page, if you look for information according to departments and then look under DAC, you will find such information.

The question of foreign aid is very complex and looking at percentages of GNI given as aid, gives only part of the answers, though it is also important. Equally important should be, how this aid is given, what conditions are made about it use, if it is tied with obligation to buy certain equipment and materials from donor countries, if part of it (some times big part) goes to pay salaries of consultants of donor countries, etc.

According to the OECD/DAC report 2001, 5 countries gave more than 0.7% of GNI as aid - Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Luxemburg and Sweden. Remaining countries and the % of GNI they gave as aid are: Belgium (0.37%), Switzerland (0.34%), Ireland (0.33%), Finland, France and UK (0.32%), Spain (0.30%), Austria (0,29%), Germany (0.27%), New Zeland, Australia & Portugal (0.25%), Japan (0.23%), Canada (0.22%), Greece (0.17%), Italy (0.15%) and USA (0.11%).

At the Monterray conference, all these countries made commitments for increasing the aid. For example, the French said that they will increase ODA (overseas development aid) to 0.5% of GNI by 2007 and to 0.7% by 2012. Obviously it is easier to make commitments than to keep them. Big meetings usually carry lot of rhetoric.

It also depends on how they calculate it. For example, the Italian NGOs were protesting that from the limited amount of funds kept for aid through NGOs,  no funds were actually given to NGOs in 2003, as most of the funds were used for 'peace-keeping missions'. Thus the military presence in other countries like Bosnia or Iraq, can also be calculated as ODA. With World Bank, IMF and central European Bank asking developed countries for reducing state deficits, one of the first non-productive expenses to be reduced is ODA of developed countries.

It is a big subject! 
Sunil

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