 Official Development Assistance
Developed countries reaffirmed in 2002 the commitment they had made in 1970 to allocate 0.7% of their gross national income (GNI) to Official Development Assistance (ODA). However, actual ODA falls far below this commitment.
In 2005, European governments established for the first time a concrete target date (2015) for the fulfillment of the 0.7% commitment by each and every one of them. In 2005 ODA from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members reached an all time high of USD 106.8 billion. But this record was only made possible by adding 22.7 billion in debt relief (mainly for Iraq and Nigeria) to the actual aid figures. This meant that 20% of the amount did not represent a real flow of funds to recipient countries. This accounting trick triggered a debate about the very concept of aid. There is a serious risk that the ODA goal will only be met by changing its definition, in the same way as some countries achieve poverty reduction on paper by lowering the official poverty line.
In 2006 global ODA fell by 5.1% compared with 2005. Aid to Sub-Saharan Africa rose by 23% in 2006, but when debt relief for Nigeria is excluded, the growth is reduced to 2%. ODA is expected to fall back again in 2007 as debt relief for Nigeria and Iraq tapers off.
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