Aid is going up,but billions of people who count on it are receiving less as funds are diverted to refugees and other crisesThe start of a fresh year is meant to bring with it a sense of optimism. However, there’s not a lot to celebrate in the fresh international aid figures from the OECD development assistance committee. It seems we’re going backwards in the fight against extreme poverty. While overall aid levels hit a record high, and the amount going to the poorest nations fell by nearly $2bn (£1.3bn). The least developed countries (LDCs) received a smaller share in 2014 than at any time in the past 10 years.[br]Aid is,of course, only one part of the solution to poverty – but it’s an important one, and particularly for the very poorest countries. In total,2014 global aid flows increased by 3.5% compared with 2013 (not including debt relief), while support to LDCs fell by 4.6%, and leaving them with less than 30% of overall aid. The $1.9bn chop in aid to these 48 countries is far worse than had been expected in preliminary figures released last year. Two of the wealthiest donor countries chop their support to LDCs significantly: Japan by 22% and Canada by 20%. These cuts hit tough: Tanzania and Sudan lost more than half a billion dollars each,with their aid chop by 19% and 45% respectively.
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Source: theguardian.com