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Note: This document is from the archive of the Africa Policy E-Journal, published
by the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC) from 1995 to 2001 and by Africa Action
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Africa: Report Cites Declining International Aid
Any links to other sites in this file from 1995 are not clickable,
given the difficulty in maintaining up-to-date links in old files.
However, we hope they may still provide leads for your research.
Africa: Report Cites Declining International Aid
Date Distributed (ymd): 950821
No Relief in Sight for Humanitarian Aid
Dwindling Aid Budgets Will Have Grave Consequences
Humanitarian aid groups from Europe and the United States
are warning that steep reductions in foreign aid to
developing countries have become an alarming trend in the
West that could undermine global stability and rapidly
increase the number of people living in absolute poverty.
The warning came as aid groups released a new report, "The
Reality of Aid 1995," which shows that aid from the richer
countries to the world's poor suffered a substantial decline
in 1993 -- falling from $61 billion to $56 billion, a drop
of six percent in real terms.
"Taken alone, this worldwide decline is disturbing enough,"
said Julia Taft, president of InterAction. "But when you
consider that the US Congress is now considering an
additional 35 percent reduction in development assistance
next year, it is not an exaggeration to say that this trend
could have catastrophic consequences for hundreds of
millions of people."
Taft noted that severe cuts in aid for international
programs such as economic development, environmental
protection and disease control might pressure other
industrialized nations to cut aid by similar proportions.
"If this trend continues, by the turn of the century, the
flow of development assistance could be little more than a
trickle, exacerbating global threats such as rapid
population growth, forced migration and environmental
degradation," said Taft, adding that "the AIDS epidemic
could worsen and outbreaks of infectious diseases like the
Ebola virus will become more likely."
"The Reality of Aid" reports that public opinion polls in
countries throughout the industrialized world indicate that
most people -- including those in the United States --
support aid to the poorest countries. At the same time,
however, government support appears to be declining rapidly.
In spite of commitments to eliminating poverty at the March
1995 Social Summit in Copenhagen, aid as a percentage of
donors' GNP fell from 0.33 percent of GNP in 1992 to 0.30
percent in 1993. The US share is equivalent to 0.15 percent
-- or one-half the average of other industrialized nations.
The United Nations target is 0.7 percent.
Donors also allowed their proportion of government spending
to fall from over 2 percent to under 1.8 percent for the
first time since 1990. In the United States, the proportion
of the federal budget that goes to foreign aid is less than
1 percent. On a per capita basis, the US contribution to
development assistance ranks last among all industrialized
nations.
According to the report, the US is not the only donor nation
considering further aid reductions. Germany is expected to
cut aid disbursements by 1.4 percent in 1995; Italian aid
for 1995 is 60 percent below its 1992 figure. Canadian aid
will decline by 15 percent in 1995/96 and will fall by 21
percent over the three-year period to 1997/98.
Among the traditionally generous donors, the Netherlands has
committed to restore aid to 0.9 percent of its GNP by 1998.
Sweden has decided to freeze aid at $1.78 billion until the
next election -- guaranteeing a real cut in aid over the
next three or four years. Denmark and Norway look set to
remain the only donors giving over 1 percent.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) say they fear
increasing marginalization for the least developed
countries, particularly in Africa, where reduced aid is
likely to mean further environmental degradation, increased
poverty, disease, conflict and refugee flows. The human cost
will be terrible, and the long term financial cost is likely
to outweigh the price of an effective strategy to assist
Africa now.
"The Reality of Aid 1995" explains that aid spending not
only makes a major contribution to human welfare, it is also
a highly cost-effective investment in the future. For
example, an additional year of school for 1,000 women in
Pakistan at a cost of $30,000 is estimated to increase wages
by 20 percent and prevent 60 child deaths, 500 births and 3
maternal deaths.
The increasing share of aid being allocated to emergencies
and the growing allocations of aid to debt reduction are
substantially reducing the availability of aid for long-term
development, according to the report.
Development cooperation has become increasingly sensitive to
the links between poverty reduction and gender equality. As
70 percent of the world's poor people are women or girls,
any aid agency seriously attempting to fight poverty has no
choice but to address women's needs and potential.
Much of the attention to gender, however, remains at the
level of rhetoric. Despite near universal recognition that
investment in education for women and girls results in
better returns than perhaps any other investment, most
donors are not yet even reporting their spending on basic
education, let alone basic female education.
Donor countries have recognized the global nature of many
threats to human security -- including poverty, drugs,
environmental degradation, migration and unemployment -- in
policy statements and in aid spending. As the distinctions
between foreign, defense, development, trade and environment
policy diminish, nations are beginning to acknowledge that
sustainable development is a matter of both common security
and good economics.
It is increasingly clear that development cooperation is in
the interests of both rich and poor nations. It is also
clear that helping poorer countries is seen as a moral
imperative by many people throughout the industrialized
world.
"The Reality of Aid" calls for all countries that are
reducing aid to reverse the cuts -- and for all donors who
have not achieved the UN target to honor commitments by
setting firm timetables to reach 0.7 percent. Tony German,
one of the principal authors of the report, concludes that:
"With the number of people in the world surviving on less
than $1 a day still rising -- and clear evidence that aid
directed to human need is an excellent investment, donors
should build on public commitment to humanitarian action and
redouble their efforts -- not to cut aid to some of the
world's neediest people."
"The Reality of Aid 95: An Independent Review of
International Aid" (120pp; ISBN 1-85383-292-8) was published
jointly by the Europe-based groups Actionaid, ICVA and
Eurostep. It is available from
(1) Earthscan Publications Limited, 120 Pentonville Road,
London N1 9JN, United Kingdom. Price: 12.95 pounds.
(2) ICVA Secretariat, P.O. Box 216, 1211 Geneva 21,
Switzerland. Tel: (41 22) 732 6600; Fax: (41 22) 7388804;
Email: [email protected]. Price: 30 Sw Fr.
(3) Island Press, P.O. Box 7, Covelo, CA 95428 U.S.A. Tel:
(800) 828-1302; Fax: (707) 983-6414; Email:
[email protected]. Price: $20.95 + shipping & handling.
*******
This article appeared in the June 26, 1995 issue of Monday
Developments, a bi-weekly newsletter published by
InterAction: American Council for Voluntary Interational
Action. InterAction is a coalition of over 150 US-based
private and voluntary organizations (PVOs) working
internationally in sustainable development, disaster relief,
refugee assistance, public policy and education of Americans
about the developing world. Monday Developments contains
news, analysis, features and commentary on changing global
events that affect humanitarian work. In addition to reports
from around the globe, it provides updates on initiatives in
Washington that affect people in the developing world and
suggests ways readers can influence US government policies.
The newsletter also lists important conferences and seminars
on international issues, reviews new resources, and has a
section on employment opportunities in the US and abroad. To
receive a sample copy, send $4 (US currency only please) to
Monday Developments, InterAction, 1717 Massachusetts Ave. NW
#801, Dept. IN, Washington, DC 20036, USA. More
information on InterAction is available from
[email protected].
*******************************************************
This material is being reposted for wider distribution
by the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC's
primary objective is to widen the policy debate in the
United States around African issues and the U.S. role
in Africa, by concentrating on providing accessible
policy-relevant information and analysis usable by a
wide range of groups and individuals. APIC is
affiliated with the Washington Office on Africa (WOA),
a not-for-profit church, trade union and civil rights
group supported organization that works with Congress
on Africa-related legislation.
*******************************************************
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