Alliance 2015, a network of six European NGOs, supports the European Commission’s ambitions
regarding aid effectiveness. At a summit on aid effectiveness in Accra,Ghana, Alliance 2015 made its position clear.“Aid effectiveness is the single most important factor to alleviate
poverty. We really need to go beyond rhetoric and come out of Accra with a concrete and time-bound plan”, said Vagn Berthelsen, president of Alliance 2015 and director of the Danish NGO Ibis. “Being by far the world’s largest donor, the EU has a special responsibility for the poor and the Commission has an ambitious strategy on aid
effectiveness.
Concrete deliverables
“But it will require concerted European action in order for Accra to have any meaningful outcome. Europe must go beyond the rhetorical
ambitions and encourage the donor community to come up with concrete timetables and deliverables in a range of key areas including predictability, division of labour among donors and
transparency”, he added.
Living in hunger
“850 million people live in hunger, mostly in rural areas. The EU needs to make sure that aid goes to the most needy”,
Hans-Joachim Preuss, director of the German NGO Welthungerhilfe said. “To make aid more efficient and effective, EU development cooperation needs
to become more accountable and democratic in a way that it includes parliaments and civil society to a larger extent”. The 2015
Watch report, released last Wednesday, measures the contribution of the EC towards the Millennium Development Goals. According to the report, some major flaws still persist. There is a lack of
focus on results of the EC’s aid investment, and on certain issues including hunger.The report states that in order to make aid more effective, the EC needs to focus more on results,
ensure accountability and strengthen the role of civil society as an essential partner.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
