ONE laments drop in aid to poorest countries

BRUSSELS, April 8^th. Today, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC) released the preliminary Official Development Assistance (ODA) figures for 2014, showing how much donor countries gave in total last year. The new figures reveal that aid to the least-developed countries made a downward turn in 2014.

Valentina Barbagallo, ONE’s Policy and Advocacy Officer, said:

“It looks like the ODA figures for the EU institutions remained stable, while they slightly increased for  EU DAC countries in 2014. This is good news, however the EU will not achieve its collective target of directing 0.7% of GNI towards aid by 2015. In a year where a whole new development agenda will be decided as well as the ways to finance it, an EU recommitment and timeline for this target in May will be critical to the success of this year’s decisions.”

“However, at ONE we are worried about the severe drop in aid to the least-developed countries. This shows a lack of commitment to finish the job on ending extreme poverty by 2030 and leave no one behind. If we are serious about making this year successful it is crucial to focus on the hardest to reach from the get-go. A bold new commitment of directing half of the EU’s collective aid to the poorest countries is sorely needed.”

Notes to editors

1. The OECD figures can be downloaded from: http://oecd.org/newsroom/development-aid-stable-in-2014-but-flows-to-poorest-countries-still-falling.htm
2. This year the New Sustainable Development Goals, due to be unveiled in September, will set out the historic target of ending extreme poverty by 2030. The 3^rd International Financing for Development Conference, in Addis Ababa in July, will be crucial to decide how to finance development going forward.
3. About ONE | ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organisation of more than 6 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Not politically partisan, we raise public awareness and press political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programmes. ONE is not a grant-making organisation and does not solicit funding from the public or receive government funding. ONE is funded almost entirely by foundations, individual philanthropists and corporations. We achieve change through advocacy. Our teams in London, Washington, New York, Johannesburg, Brussels, Berlin and Paris educate and lobby governments to shape policy solutions that save and improve millions of lives. To learn more, go to www.one.org.
4. For further information or interviews please contact Tess Uytterhoeven on +32 471 89 64 22 or [email protected].