§ The Earl of Sandwichasked. Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have any evidence that the decline in overseas aid worldwide of over 20 per cent in real terms between 1992 and 1997 has now been reversed; and what pressure they are bringing to bear on members of the Development Assistance Committee to ensure this reversal. [HL1949]
§ Baroness AmosIn 1998, the latest year for which figures are available, official development assistance (ODA) rose by US$3.6 billion to almost US$52 billion, an increase on 1997 of 9.6 per cent in real terms. This resulted in the ODA/GNP ratio for all Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Member countries rising from 0.22 to 0.24 per cent. Fifteen of the 21 DAC member countries reported a rise in net ODA disbursements in real terms. But we need to monitor year on year progress. DAC figures are based on calendar not financial years and this can produce distortions.
The Government have started to reverse the decline in the UK's development assistance budget and have made clear their commitment to the UN target of 0.7 per cent of GNP. They have called on all donors to reverse the trend in declining ODA and challenged the donor community to increase official development finance to US$60 billion by this year. We also continue to press for better focused and more efficient assistance by both bilateral and multilateral donors. It is only by the whole international system working collaboratively and backing the leadership of governments and people in developing countries against measurable improvements in poverty reduction year on year that the aim of poverty elimination will be achieved.