ONE urges MEPs to target half of aid to poorest countries

On Monday 20 April, the European Parliament Development Committee is set to vote on its “Financing for Development” (FfD) report in preparation of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, taking place in Addis Ababa on 13-16 July. ONE calls on the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to focus on the hardest to reach and ensure that decisions on how to finance development going forward will leave no one behind.

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

“In the Financing for Development report, the European Parliament must call on EU Member States to commit to a new target of directing at least 50% of the EU’s collective aid to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). LDCs have a disproportionate number of extremely poor people, with an average of 44% of the total LDCs population living on less than $1.25 per day. This is not an acceptable situation and a redoubling of efforts towards LDCs is beyond urgent.”

“The FfD report is the perfect occasion for MEPs to call for measures targeting aid where needs are greatest and capacity to raise resources is weakest, in the context of a time-bound recommitment to spending 0.7% of the EU’s collective Gross National Income (GNI) on development assistance. If the EU is serious about ending extreme poverty by 2030, now is the time to put its money where its mouth is.”

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Notes to editors

• Contact, information &interviews: Tess Uytterhoeven| Media Manager | [email protected] | m: +32 (0)471 89 64 22

• Monday’s committee vote is the European Parliament’s contribution to the EU’s position ahead of the Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa in July. This conference brings together all countries to decide on how to finance the fight against extreme poverty. Together with the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will be adopted in September, it makes 2015 a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the lives of hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest.

• ABOUT ONE: ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organisation of over 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. To learn more, go to www.one.org.