News Roundup – Transparency and private finance, plus recent research highlights
Preliminary figures for 2017 Official Development Assistance show that aid has flatlined. Yet the ambitious targets set by the Sustainable Development Goals will require greater resources – a shift from mobilising billions to mobilising trillions. Private resources are expected to fill at least part of this gap.
So to what extent are public resources already mobilising private investments?
In her latest blog, Sally Paxton has teamed up with George Ingram of the Brookings Institution to explore this question. Read their blog to find out how the BUILD Act might help to reveal the whole picture of development assistance.
We also wanted to bring you a quick roundup of just a few of the reports we’ve been reading over the last few weeks…
The European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) has released a new report Development, Untied, which concludes that more than half of aid spent on procurement still goes to rich countries’ firms.
It is an insightful use of OECD DAC aid flow data to expose the current reality of how the money spent by donors on the procurement of goods and services actually flows. With further development of other aid transparency systems, including IATI, it should be possible to trace these flows down through layers of northern and southern sub-contractors to identify where these funds ultimately reside. This depends on publishers providing this information at more granular levels such as individual projects and activities.
The Center for Global Development (CGD) has published its Commitment to Development Index 2018, which ranks 27 of the world’s richest countries on their dedication to policies that benefit people living in low-income countries. The index ranks the countries based on seven indicators: foreign aid (both quantity as a share of national income, and quality), finance, technology, environment, trade, security, and migration. The key findings include a top spot for Sweden, a surge for Australia and 23rd place for the US.
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has published key findings and analysis from research on what needs to be done to deliver the global target to end extreme poverty by 2030. It finds that among some of the poorest countries there is currently a funding gap of $125 billion each year for health, education and social protection, which are crucial for reducing poverty. Although increased taxation could close this gap in most middle-income countries, low-income countries will remain reliant on aid to fund these social sectors. The report contains a series of recommendations for donors to help address the gap.