BRUSSELS, 13 APRIL 2016. Today, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC) released the preliminary Official Development Assistance (ODA) figures for 2015, showing how much aid donor countries contributed in total last year.
After several years of decline, bilateral aid to the least developed countries finally increased. However, the new data also show a huge increase in aid being spent in donor countries, which could squeeze aid to Africa in future years.
While aid in total increased by some 6.9% in real terms from 2014 to 2015, aid spent within donor countries on refugees almost doubled, representing 9% ($12 billion) of the total. Many countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, are now officially the single biggest recipients of their own aid and five countries spend more than 20% of their aid budgets at home.
Adrian Lovett, Interim Deputy CEO, The ONE Campaign said:
“This is a boost for campaigners who have been insisting that the costs of the refugee crisis should not be met at the expense of the world’s poorest countries. It’s promising to see aid to the poorest finally starting to increase. But extreme poverty must be tackled with the same sense of urgency that Europeans have shown in supporting refugees. In one year, governments doubled their spending on refugee costs in their own countries, yet bilateral increased aid to least developed countries rose by only 4%. It would be short-sighted for governments to neglect funding for long-term development needs for some of the most vulnerable people in the world in order to fund costs at home. We can and must do both.
“Less than a year ago the world agreed new global goals to end poverty, and now is the time to put those plans into action. Marginal aid increases that are barely keeping up with economic growth are not going to bring an end to poverty and instability in our lifetimes. World leaders must commit to prioritise the poorest, particularly girls and women who are hit the hardest by extreme poverty. All donor countries should invest at least 50% of their aid in the least developed countries to help them meet basic needs such as health and education and to help them lift themselves out of poverty.”
Valentina Barbagallo, Brussels Policy and Advocacy Officer, The ONE Campaign said:
“While total aid in 2015 increased by some 6.9% in real terms, aid from EU institutions saw a slight 0.5% drop compared to 2014. While this figure is disappointing, in the 2016 budget the EU made an effort to increase aid by 5% while also increasing funding to support refugees in Europe. This is the kind of ambition and vision we want to see from the EU but it is now essential to ensure that ODA is actually spent on development programmes in the poorest countries. The approval of the 2017 budget at the end of the year represents a crucial moment for the EU institutions to prove once again that it is possible to increase both funds for refugees and development aid.”
