Development finance must shift away from aid

BEIJING – Traditional donors have sharply scaled back their aid commitments to developing countries over the past year. Some, like the United States, have virtually eliminated their aid programs. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), official development assistance (ODA) from member countries declined by 7.1 percent in 2024, its first annual drop in six years. This trend was not limited to a few major donors. Of the 33 members of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), 22 slashed their aid budgets, and only four countries met the United Nations’ target of allocating 0.7% of gross national income to ODA. The outlook for the coming year offers little hope for improvement, as major DAC donors have announced additional cuts. Most notably, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has suspended most foreign aid and dismantled the Agency for International Development (USAID), which dispersed most U.S. government aid dollars. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom plans to reduce aid spending from 0.5 percent of GNI to 0.3 percent by 2027.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times