The World Bank’s Vice President for South Asia, Isabel Guerrero, yesterday stressed the importance of transparency in Pakistan aid efforts to reassure donors that flood aid will not be subject to corruption.

Guerrero said the World Bank was willing to help Pakistan track aid flows, establish sound procurement practices, grievance mechanisms, and robust monitoring and evaluation systems for aid. In a meeting with the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, they set out a plan to ensure all citizens have access to information about the source and amount of aid and its distribution online.

Publish What You Fund believe transparency is critical to the effective dissemination of resources in both humanitarian crises and longer-term development, but also in reassuring donors of good use of resources. President Ali Zardari said that the government was deeply conscious of the fact that the success of the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction operation depended upon trust of the donors that their money is being spent to best effect.

The plan for greater transparency is a great step and will have a positive impact on the relief effort. However, international comparability is necessary for the coordination that is required to make the most of aid money. That is why the International Aid Transparency Initiative is developing a global standard for aid transparency. 

Read more here and see our letter to the World Bank here.