Bangkok--Sep 30--eTurbo news
KATHMANDU, Nepal (eTurboNews) -- The United Nations’ conference on poverty alleviation held recently in Monterrey, Mexico held out hopes for poor countries. Developed countries are helping their underdeveloped counterparts with development aid.
The UN prescribes that developed and industrialized countries provide 0.7 percent of their GNP for poor countries. The US contributes 0.1 percent, whereas the EU nations provide 0.3 percent. Norway, Finland Denmark and Sweden are among the few countries that have fulfilled UN’s request.
Days before the start of the Monterrey Summit, the US announced it will increase its aid by US$5 billion for a total of US$15 billion per annum, beginning this year. Similarly, the EU nations pledged to increase development aid to 0.39 percent of their GNP with effect from 2006, an increase of US$7 billion per annum.
To benefit from the United States’s contribution, however, certain conditions have to be met. Only those countries that are committed to upholding democracy and free economy, maintain good governance by eliminating corruption and other unwholesome practices, and utilize aid money in an honest and transparent manner will benefit from the aid packages.
US’s action in imposing such conditions is common. Donor agencies such as the World Bank are wary about the use of their aid, which puts pressure on poor countries to curb corruption and misuse of aid money
Although the imposition of such conditions was demurred at by several NGOs and nations, it has its own reality. After all, lack of good governance, rampant corruption and non-transparency in development projects have worsened the conditions of poor countries, thus widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
The UN has predicted that an amount of US$ 100 billion, twice as much as the present level of aid, will be required to halve the number of 1.2 billion poverty-stricken people by 2015.
The Monterrey Summit has held out a possibility of advanced countries pressing ahead with poverty alleviation programs in poor countries. In addition, poor countries need to utilize aid money in a responsible, predictable and transparent manner to transform the economies of poor countries.
The Monterrey Summit provides new impetus that to the development efforts of poor countries, especially in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa, in view to pledges made by advanced countries to increase foreign aid to help alleviate poverty.
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