International aid provides a key element of development financing. For many of the poorest countries, official development assistance (ODA) represents the largest source of external financing. ODA can support a country's education, health, public infrastructure, agricultural and rural development. But only a handful of rich countries meet the UN target of giving 0.7% of their gross national product in international assistance. Further, donors often "tie" aid by requiring that it be spent on exports from the donor. Aid also often has political strings attached and it may be used to promote local business interests of the donor, not the real development needs of the recipient. This page posts articles on these and other aspects of international aid and development.
This section provides articles, papers and general information on international aid, including analysis of donor countries' aid policies and how most governments have not reached the UN target of giving 0.7% of their gross national product in international assistance.
This section posts articles, documents and other information on the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). Launched by Secretary General Kofi Annan on March 9 of 2006, the CERF aims to deliver rapid response to humanitarian crises.
This section posts articles on challenges of food aid including the inadequacy of existing levels of government funding for international emergency hunger relief.
This section provides tables and charts on international aid, including top recipients of international aid, governments spending on military budgets vs aid budgets and more.
Tables and Charts on Global Food Aid
This section provides tables and charts on international hunger relief, with a focus on the hunger crises administered by the World Food Programme (WFP). The data show that hunger crises with much political and media attention tend to get more funds than chronic crises.
This section provides links and resources on international aid.
