Rich nations’ squabbles could hamper aid - Actionaid

KENYA: A global development agency, ActionAid, said on Monday it is concerned that major international aid talks due to start in Ghana will end with no concrete commitments to improving aid.

In a statement issued in Nairobi ahead of the Third High Level Forum (HLF3) on aid effectiveness starting in Accra on Tuesday, ActionAid said a vital opportunity to make aid work for the poor will be lost if donor countries continue arguing amongst themselves.

More than 500 officials from donor and developing countries will meet from Sept. 2 to 4 to report back on progress made in meeting the targets set out in the Paris Declaration in 2005 and to endorse a new Accra Agenda for Action on aid.

Politicians made high level political promises to make aid better for poor people, but lack of progress on these commitments means their credibility is now at stake.

The development agency said donor countries are ignoring the key issues put on the table by southern countries and civil society, and are instead squabbling amongst themselves with no results for poor people. ActionAid said its experience in over 50 countries shows that unless gender equality and women rights become the central goal of the development agenda, neither aid nor their accompanying development policies will deliver the required results.

Nairobi, Tuesday, Xinhua