Sub-Saharan Africa receives $28b as aid in 2011 falls first time since 1997 – OECD
Major donors’ aid to developing countries fell by nearly 3% in 2011, the first drop since 1997, a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said April 4, 2012.
The breaking of a long trend of annual increases, the organisation explains, was due to the global recession which has led to the continuing “tight budgets” in OECD countries.
The report said members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD in 2011, provided $133.5 billion of net official development assistance (ODA), representing 0.31% of their combined gross national income (GNI). “This was a -2.7 % drop in real terms compared to 2010, the year it reached its peak,” the OECD said.
This decrease reflects fiscal constraints in several DAC countries which have affected their ODA budgets.
The report said bilateral aid to sub-Saharan Africa was $28 billion, representing a fall of -0.9% in real terms compared to 2010. But aid to the African continent increased by 0.9% to $31.4 billion, as donors provided more aid to North Africa after the revolutions in the region.
The group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) also saw a fall in net bilateral ODA flows of -8.9% in real terms to $27.7 billion, it added.
The largest donors in 2011 were the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Japan. However ODA fell in sixteen DAC countries, with the largest cuts recorded in Austria, Belgium, Greece, Japan and Spain. G7 countries provided 69% of DAC ODA while EU countries, 54% of DAC ODA, OECD noted.
The United States, which continues to be the largest donor by volume, had a net ODA flows amounting to $30.7 billion, representing a fall of -0.9% in real terms from 2010. The country’s bilateral ODA for Africa rose to a record level of $9.3 billion (+17.4%), and its aid to LDCs amounted to $10.0 billion (+6.9%), according to OECD.
J. Brian Atwood, Chair of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee observed and said “While I am disappointed that some countries have failed to maintain their commitments, the overall level reflects the growing awareness that global challenges – from disease to security threats to climate change – cannot be resolved without development progress.”
OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría encouraged donors to meet their commitments. “The fall of ODA is a source of great concern, coming at a time when developing countries have been hit by the knock-on effect of the crisis and need it most,” Gurria said.
By Ekow Quandzie