The OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC)
is currently reviewing the rules to report donors’ loans as Official
Development Assistance (ODA). This discussion is taking place against a
backdrop of aid cuts across Europe and raises concerns about the intentions of DAC
donors. There are risks that the poor will be short-changed if the new rules
make it easier for donors to inflate their aid figures further without making
fresh money available and that debt sustainability will be undermined if loans
are scaled-up.
In a context of development budget
cuts across Europe, it is becoming increasingly unlikely that donors will meet
the target of scaling up ODA to 0.7% of their gross national income by 2015, as
they have committed to. European ODA disbursements ...