development aid

The European Parliament voted on its EU budget for aid and foreign policy (NDICI). In response to the vote, Evelien van Roemburg, Oxfam EU Head of Office said: "This new financial instrument stands a real chance at combatting poverty and inequality which has leapt during the pandemic."

The 4th International Financing for Development Conference (FfD4)2 must address the extreme inequality crisis that threatens people and the planet. The richest one percent has the same wealth as 95% of humanity3 while global decision-making processes keep reproducing colonial patterns of power relations that leave billions behind and block progressive multilateral reform. 

Inequality occurs on two fronts, national and global. The gap between the richest and the rest at the national level is very high or rising in most countries. Simultaneously the gap between the richest countries and the Global South rose sharply due to COVID-19 and the subsequent economic and debt crises, remaining unacceptably high. 

At the AU-EU Summit, African Union and European Union leaders will meet to discuss cooperation between the AU and the EU “based on shared interests and values.” The summit will take place during the French EU Presidency and the French government has indicated a high level of ambition in terms of outcomes.  

Figures published today by the OECD show that development aid has slightly increased in 2020. While this rise provides a lifeline for millions of people living in poverty around the world, it’s simply not enough. With extreme poverty skyrocketing for the first time in over twenty years and increasing economic and gender inequality exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis, rich countries are facing and failing the biggest test the aid system has seen since its creation 50 years ago, said Oxfam. 

With its new long-term budget, the EU missed a chance to put itself at the forefront of a fair and green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Oxfam said today.

The recovery fund and long-term EU budget agreed today do not match the urgency of our current situation and the challenges ahead, said Oxfam.

Domestic Revenue Mobilisation is key for governments to fund their own development goals, finance gender-responsive public services and to reduce economic, social and gender inequalities. While the EU is leading the way when it comes to the quantity of aid it provides towards domestic revenue mobilisation, there is significant room for improvement when it comes to the quality of the aid provided.

Current levels of aid from rich countries are woefully inadequate to help developing countries face the coronavirus crisis, said Oxfam today in response to new OECD aid figures for 2019.

The only way to avoid the pandemic devastating lives and livelihoods at an untold scale is for rich countries to mobilise all available resources, said Oxfam in response to a new European Commission plan outlining how the EU will support developing countries in the face of COVID-19.

EU development aid is increasingly being spent to close borders, stifle migration and push for returns of migrants to Africa, reveals new research published by Oxfam.