Totalling $152.8 billion USD in 2019, Official Development Assistance (ODA) from rich countries increased 1.4% in real terms compared to 2018 according to preliminary data released on Thursday, 16 April, by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD.
This is equivalent to 0.30% of the combined gross national income of DAC countries (compared to 0.31% in 2018)—far from the target of 0.7%—but the increase is encouraging according to the OECD.
Bilateral ODA to Africa increased by 1.3%, and that to the least-developed countries, by 2.6%. Excluding aid for refugee care in donor countries—which dropped by 2% compared to 2018—ODA rose by 1.7% in real terms.
Last year, ODA from the 20 EU countries that are members of DAC totalled $84.5 billion USD (+0.5% in real terms), or 0.47% of their combined GNI. Excluding refugee-related costs, their combined ODA increased by 1.1% in real terms. The total ODA from EU institutions decreased by 6.1% in real terms due to a lower lending volume.
The same champions. As in 2018, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom met or exceeded the target of 0.7%.
Not enough according to Oxfam. “Current levels of aid from rich countries are woefully inadequate to help developing countries face the coronavirus crisis, which could force 500 million more people into poverty and cause up to 40 million deaths”, Oxfam said. The NGO reiterates that the UN estimates that these countries now need $500 billion in additional aid. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)