Donors for Africa

Donors for Africa

According to data released recently by the World Bank’s DATA Report 2011, for the past five years, the DATA Report has monitored the historic commitments to sub-Saharan Africa that the G8 and European Union made in 2005. These promises were due to be delivered in 2010, a year that also marked the crucial two-thirds point for the world to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

In 2010, development assistance to sub-Saharan Africa was the highest on record. However, the increases over the past five years still fell short of the commitments made in 2005, and the prospect of scaling up efforts to meet commitments beyond 2010 could be in jeopardy. Flat lining or even cuts from some donors threatens to undermine recent progress made in fighting HIV/AIDS and malaria, boosting agricultural productivity and sending children to school.

The road to 2015 is less clear than the path to 2010, with budgets tightening and some countries lacking overall targets for their development assistance.

This challenging landscape will require all development partners – African governments, donors and private sector actors – to renew their focus on effectiveness, innovation and results to ensure that the impact of every development dollar is maximized.

Key Findings

1. There have been historic increases in development assistance to sub-Saharan Africa over the past ten years, especially in the five years since Gleneagles.

2. Results since 2000 are living proof that investments in development are working.

3. Because of shortfalls from a sub-set of countries, the G7 delivered only 61% of their promised increases to sub-Saharan Africa by 2010.

4. Individually, some G7 efforts to meet their development assistance targets were commendable, but others were condemnable.

5. Clear and collective commitments are needed to ensure accountability post-Gleneagles.

6. Innovative financing can help mobilize the resources needed to achieve the MDGs.

7. In a time of constrained resources, the effectiveness of each dollar is even more critical.

8. New partnerships must be built on transparency and accountability.

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