Rich countries’ overseas aid behind pledges

Rich countries’ overseas aid behind pledges

By Alan Beattie in London

Published: April 4 2008 02:56 | Last updated: April 4 2008 02:56

Overseas aid crawled higher last year but left most rich countries well behind successive pledges they have made to increase assistance to the developing world.

Figures to be released on Friday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, obtained by the Financial Times, show that excluding one-off effects of debt relief, which can cause large year-on-year movements in the data, aid increased by 2.4 per cent.

OECD member countries gave on average 0.28 per cent of their national income in aid in 2007, well below the 0.7 per cent target set by the United Nations. In real terms, overall net aid from the world’s rich countries fell 8.4 per cent last year to $103.7bn (€66bn, £52bn). The OECD declined to comment.

The US gave the least as a share of national income, 0.16 per cent, with the UK at 0.36 per cent, Germany at 0.37 per cent and France at 0.39 per cent.

Many countries are also falling well behind the targets they set in 2005 at the Group of Eight rich countries’ summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. At the time, Tony Blair, then UK prime minister, and Gordon Brown, then chancellor of the exchequer, proclaimed the promises as a breakthrough in assistance to the developing world.

Aid has risen at only half the rate necessary to meet the targets, with the UK being one of the few countries that appears on target, though UK aid excluding debt relief actually fell last year. France, Germany and particularly Italy are all behind on their commitments. Japanese aid is on a downward trend, though it may be able to meet its Gleneagles commitment by counting debt relief for Iraq and Nigeria – which entails little actual transfer of resources – towards its total.

Development campaigners who pushed hard for the commitments at Gleneagles said that the shortfall was mounting year on year.

Max Lawson, policy adviser at Oxfam, said: “This is the clearest signal yet that rich countries are in real danger of breaking their promises to the developing world. There can no longer be any doubt that governments are seriously off target for meeting their overall commitments to increase aid spending.”

Campaigners have warned that official aid from the rich world risks becoming a marginal player in developing countries, with emerging market nations, particularly China, prepared to spend large sums on infrastructure and other projects, particularly in return for securing access to natural resources.

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日本のＯＤＡ、３割減で５位転落・07年暫定値、ＯＥＣＤまとめ

　経済協力開発機構（ＯＥＣＤ）がまとめた2007年の政府開発援助（ＯＤＡ）実績の暫定値が明らかになった。返済済みの借款などを差し引いた日本の純支出額は76億9100万ドル（約7800億円）で、06年に比べて30.1％の大幅減少。世界での順位は06年の3位から独仏に抜かれ5位に落ち、ＯＤＡでの日本の存在感低下が鮮明となった。

　数値はＯＥＣＤ開発援助委員会（ＤＡＣ）が4日公表する。日本の援助額が減ったのは05、06年にイラクやナイジェリアに実施した大規模な債務免除が 07年はなくなったのが主因。ただ、3割もの大幅減になったのは日本だけで、日本の縮小ぶりが際立っている。日本は01年に米国に抜かれるまで1990年代から00年までＯＤＡ世界一を続けていた。集計対象の全22カ国の援助の合計額は06年比8.4％減の1036億ドルだった。

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ＯＤＡ、外相「増額めざす」・Ｇ８開発相会合が開幕

　途上国の開発支援などを協議する主要8カ国（Ｇ８）の開発相会合が5日午前、都内で開幕した。議長の高村正彦外相は会合の冒頭で、日本の政府開発援助（ＯＤＡ）の実績が2007年に前年比3割減ったことを指摘したうえで「減少傾向を底打ちさせ、反転をめざす決意だ」と、増額への強い意欲を表明した。

　会合では気候変動分野における途上国支援や新興援助国との協力関係の構築などを議論し、6日に議長総括をまとめる。7月の洞爺湖サミット（主要国首脳会議）に向けた地ならしとの位置づけで、日本の指導力が試されそうだ。