foreign aid

New research by Oxfam and CARE Climate Justice Centre, published today, finds developing countries are now paying more back to wealthy nations for climate finance loans than they receive - for every 5 dollars they receive they are paying 7 dollars back.

Transparency in international aid is not just about fulfilling a requirement based on people’s right to access information, but also about making aid more effective. Based on interviews conducted in Sierra Leone and Liberia, this research looks at the information needed by in-country development stakeholders with an emphasis on accountability actors.

Over the past six years, the International Finance Corporation has channelled over $50bn to the financial sector. However, the evidence continues to grow that this private sector arm of the World Bank Group has little control over how a great deal of this money is spent.

User fees for health care are a life or death issue for millions of people in poor countries. Too poor to pay, women and children are paying with their lives.

The 10% increase in foreign aid to $120 billion is welcome but still nowhere near enough to meet the needs of poor countries in the face of global economic meltdown.