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Viewing blog posts on: Aid

Anything to do with aid and debt

Prelude to the Chronic Poverty Report 2008: Escaping poverty traps
posted Wednesday, July 02, 2008 10:41 AM by Andrew Shepherd

It is clear that many of today's poor will simply stay poor, even if economic growth is sustained. They are caught in one or more of five poverty traps: insecurity of life or livelihood; weak citizenship status; living in a deprived area; experiencing social discrimination; or held back by poor quality work. The second international Chronic Poverty Report, launched next week, shows that the poorest can be included in progress. .. (more)

214 Views,  1 Comments


From Gleneagles to Hokkaido: Monitoring G8 commitments on aid to Africa
posted Friday, June 20, 2008 2:49 PM by Geoff Handley

In 2005, Africa was promised an additional $25 billion per year in aid. But has the G8 delivered? There is no simple answer, given the complex package of commitments. As we approach the Japanese G8 summit at Hokkaido in July, there is a dangerous dearth of concrete and accessible information in the public domain... (more)

739 Views,  1 Comments


Reading between the lines. Is EU aid in trouble?
posted Wednesday, June 18, 2008 1:01 PM by Simon Maxwell

The EU Council meeting on 19 and 20 June represents an important marker in this year of the Call to Action on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There are some serious issues to consider, including the failure of European donors to meet their commitments on aid, both in terms of the levels of funding and in delivering harmonisation and alignment. Most importantly, however, the future of the MDG project itself will be debated... (more)

627 Views,  1 Comments


Lessons from Latin America: Donors, democracy and development
posted Friday, June 13, 2008 4:51 PM by Alina Rocha Menocal

Latin America is a laboratory of democratic governance and experimentation. As such, it is an important learning ground for other regions in the developing world. The challenge for donors is how to work with these weak democracies to harness their representative nature and their developmental potential. This means having to develop a deeper understanding of the political economy and context of the settings in which they are involved... (more)

719 Views,  0 Comments


Reform of the International System: the momentum is building
posted Friday, June 13, 2008 10:19 AM by Simon Maxwell

The Commonwealth mini-Summit in London is the latest sign that reform of the international system is moving rapidly up the agenda. The Summit discussed reform of the UN, the Bretton Woods Institutions and global environmental governance. On all these, there is enthusiasm among Heads of Government for faster and better coordinated change... (more)

798 Views,  2 Comments


Rome exceeded expectations; will the G8 do the same?
posted Friday, June 06, 2008 12:12 PM by Simon Maxwell

The Food Summit in Rome turned out better than expected. It was not derailed by Robert Mugabe. It survived the unedifying wrangling over a final communiqué. It gave the topic a good hearing. It confirmed some practical actions. And it passed the torch successfully to the G8 in Japan in July... (more)

1214 Views,  1 Comments


The food price crisis: another 'lost decade' for development?
posted Monday, June 02, 2008 11:38 AM by Simon Maxwell

The Food and Agriculture Organisation summit is a vital step in a process that will develop through a series of events in 2008, including the G8 in Hokkaido in July, and the UN Call to Action on the Millennium Development Goals, in New York in September. At this stage, the Rome summit must deliver four things... (more)

2004 Views,  0 Comments


The importance – and absence – of good governance indicators
posted Friday, May 16, 2008 9:17 AM by Verena Fritz

As governance indicators have proliferated in recent years, so has their use and the controversy that surrounds them. As more and more voices are pointing out, existing indicators – many of them developed and launched in the 1990s – have a number of flaws. This is particularly disquieting at a time when governance is at the very top of the development agenda. .. (more)

1678 Views,  1 Comments


Tackling the food price crisis: five steps
posted Thursday, May 08, 2008 11:06 AM by Simon Maxwell

The word "crisis" is much abused. But the current food price crisis constitutes a genuine emergency. Urgency in tackling it is essential... (more)

2664 Views,  5 Comments


The aid story in 2008. What’s next?
posted Wednesday, April 16, 2008 2:39 PM by Alison Evans

2008 is turning into another of those milestone years for aid. A cluster of high level meetings are focusing international attention on the challenges around effective development assistance. This presents familiar challenges: how to scale-up, align and harmonise aid to support achievement of the MDGs by 2015. But what is crucially different is the global context in which this must now be achieved. .. (more)

3124 Views,  5 Comments


Accra High Level Forum – Accountability before aspiration?
posted Friday, March 28, 2008 1:22 PM by Kent Buse

This proliferation of global health initiatives is ringing alarm bells in terms of the challenges for partner country leadership and transaction costs. So it was welcome news that the concept of "Health as a tracer sector" would be on the table at the Accra High Level Forum (HLF) in September 2008. But when we look at the agenda, why has health been relegated to one of three topics to be addressed in one of the nine round tables? .. (more)

3395 Views,  7 Comments


Will rising food prices derail development efforts?
posted Friday, February 29, 2008 1:45 PM by Simon Maxwell

Rising food prices are very much in the news.  Farmers may gain, but poor consumers are hard hit – and don’t hesitate to let the politicians know. Governments and aid agencies are under pressure to provide more robust safety nets, while simultaneously.. (more)

4259 Views,  6 Comments


Can the international community deliver on the ‘Democratic Imperative’?
posted Monday, February 18, 2008 6:24 PM by Alina Rocha Menocal

The UK’s Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, delivered an excellent speech last Tuesday (12 February) on the importance of international efforts to support democracy in the developing world, or what he called ‘the democratic imperative’. The speech.. (more)

3903 Views,  1 Comments


NAO report could risk fuelling calls for a return to old ways of working
posted Friday, February 08, 2008 4:01 PM by Nick Highton

The National Audit Office report on General Budget Support (GBS) published today is, in most respects, very much to be welcomed. However, by focusing narrowly on the risks of misappropriating GBS funds, the report risks a return to projectised aid to poor countries, in ways that avoid government systems... (more)

2526 Views,  1 Comments


The Japan G8 in 2008: a New Year’s Resolution for delivery on the big questions?
posted Thursday, December 20, 2007 10:29 AM by Fletcher Tembo

The 2008 G8 Summit in Toyako, Japan will be particularly significant because there are big issues on the international development agenda that require firm G8 commitments to be made in 2008; and yet the risk of not delivering on these agendas has never been higher... (more)

7610 Views,  2 Comments


A warm welcome to ‘Agriculture for Development’
posted Wednesday, November 14, 2007 3:59 PM by Steve Wiggins

Agriculture has been in and out of fashion over the last half century. Since the turn of the Century, however, its stock has once again been rising. This is reflected most notably in the publishing of the World Development Report 2008, entitled ‘Agriculture for Development’, which confirms the importance of agriculture to development and the policy agenda ODI, and many others, have been developing for the past decade... (more)

6799 Views,  3 Comments


Increasing Aid Effectiveness: A Role for Randomised Control Trials?
posted Tuesday, August 21, 2007 10:59 AM by Martin Prowse

The recent scaling-up of aid flows and the harmonisation agenda have focused on increasing the effectiveness of the international aid system. For example, the Paris Declaration and associated targets have focussed on public financial management and procurement.. (more)

2251 Views,  3 Comments


Engaging with Fragile States: Challenges and Opportunities
posted Tuesday, July 31, 2007 5:17 PM by Alina Rocha Menocal

The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank hosted a conference in Addis Ababa on ‘Engaging with Fragile States: Challenges and Opportunities’ on Tuesday and Wednesday last week (24-25 July). It was organised in close collaboration with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Overall, I thought the conference was very interesting, especially in terms of the people it was able to bring together. .. (more)

2551 Views,  5 Comments


Globalisation and Global Poverty Policy Group Report
posted Saturday, July 21, 2007 3:39 PM by Simon Maxwell

The Conservative Party’s Globalisation and Global Poverty Policy Group reported today.  At nearly 500 pages long, the report is a substantial contribution: there are 76 recommendations.  Without being party political, we are going to use the.. (more)

3367 Views,  5 Comments


Ten steps to a new development agenda
posted Monday, July 16, 2007 3:43 PM by Simon Maxwell

This is a time of transition in politics and policy.  What contribution can ODI make? We are always careful not to be party political and not be tarred as advocates or campaigners.  Nor do we have an institutional view which might constrain.. (more)

1959 Views,  1 Comments


Where are the political divides on international development?
posted Friday, June 22, 2007 1:05 PM by Simon Maxwell

With Gordon Brown about to take office, ODI asked representatives of the three main political parties in the UK to speak on the theme ‘What’s Next in International Development?’.  These three speeches tell us something about the issues that will.. (more)

2708 Views,  4 Comments


Will the new EU Code of Conduct on Division of Labour improve or undermine aid quality?
posted Friday, May 25, 2007 10:02 AM by Simon Maxwell

The EU Code of Conduct on Complementarity and Division of Labour in Development Policy, approved by the Council on 15 May 2007, is potentially revolutionary, with significant implications for the future of British and other bilateral aid. The Code of.. (more)

2758 Views,  3 Comments


Beyond-Aid issues: Is DFID’s response to Parliament sufficient?
posted Thursday, May 17, 2007 3:48 PM by Alan Hudson

DFID’s 2007 Annual Report was published on 15 May. As in previous years, the report outlines what DFID has done over the last year to tackle global poverty. In response to a demand from Parliament, a whole chapter is devoted to 'Working with others on policies beyond aid'. This chapter – along with sections of other chapters on fragile states, conflict, the environment and climate change – sets out how DFID has worked across Whitehall and with international partners including the EU in an effort to ensure that UK and wider international policies on beyond-aid issues are supportive of, are at least do not harm, international development... (more)

5890 Views,  2 Comments


A more careful approach to scaling up is called for
posted Tuesday, May 08, 2007 3:03 PM by Paolo de Renzio

Just last week Kofi Annan, in his new role as chairman of the Africa Progress Panel, called on G8 leaders to deliver on the promises for increased aid to Africa that were made at Gleneagles in 2005. While large amounts of additional aid have so far failed to materialise, there is little doubt that in the near future aid will play an important part in efforts to assist African countries in reaching the MDGs. Yet, how and when scaling up happens is likely to be as important as how much additional aid is actually given. .. (more)

1901 Views,  0 Comments


Is Tony Blair’s legacy on Africa at risk?
posted Tuesday, May 08, 2007 2:20 PM by Simon Maxwell

With the trade talks failing and aid volume way below target, is Tony Blair's legacy on Africa at risk?  The G8 meeting in Heiligendamm, Germany, in June, provides a last opportunity to persuade the most powerful leaders in the world to deliver on.. (more)

4895 Views,  5 Comments