Australia is at the bottom of the G20
Australia gives least in foreign aid
Nassim Khadem
November 15, 2006
AUSTRALIA is the least generous contributor to overseas aid among the G20 countries, costing thousands of lives every year, a report shows.
The report, released as part of the Make Poverty History campaign, involving 60 Australian aid agencies, community groups and church groups, shows that all countries part of the G20, apart from Australia, have increased their overseas aid allocation since 2000.
The report, by Simon Feeny and Matthew Clarke, comes just days before Melbourne hosts the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the world's largest economies. It aims at encouraging member countries, which account for about 90 per cent of the world's output and two-thirds of the world's population, to increase aid to nations in poverty.
"There are some recent signs of improvement from Australia but it can and should do more," the report says. "There is also scope for developing country G20 member governments — particularly Argentina, India and South Africa — to increase their efforts at combating corruption and increase resources devoted to development."
The report examines the percentage of gross national income that member countries have recently spent on overseas development aid. It says Australia and Japan are the least generous of all G20 countries. Australia's aid spending fell to 0.25 per cent of GNI between 2000 and 2005. The most generous donors, France and Britain, spent 0.47 and 0.48 per cent respectively.
Of the total $US81.7 billion ($A107 billion) allocated in aid each year, Australia spent only $US1.6 billion.
The report says that if Australia granted bilateral debt relief to the Philippines and Indonesia, it could save more than 20,000 children's lives in Indonesia and 1000 in the Philippines.
To learn more, click on: Make Poverty History
To read the original article from The Age, click on:
The Age
Nassim Khadem
November 15, 2006
AUSTRALIA is the least generous contributor to overseas aid among the G20 countries, costing thousands of lives every year, a report shows.
The report, released as part of the Make Poverty History campaign, involving 60 Australian aid agencies, community groups and church groups, shows that all countries part of the G20, apart from Australia, have increased their overseas aid allocation since 2000.
The report, by Simon Feeny and Matthew Clarke, comes just days before Melbourne hosts the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the world's largest economies. It aims at encouraging member countries, which account for about 90 per cent of the world's output and two-thirds of the world's population, to increase aid to nations in poverty.
"There are some recent signs of improvement from Australia but it can and should do more," the report says. "There is also scope for developing country G20 member governments — particularly Argentina, India and South Africa — to increase their efforts at combating corruption and increase resources devoted to development."
The report examines the percentage of gross national income that member countries have recently spent on overseas development aid. It says Australia and Japan are the least generous of all G20 countries. Australia's aid spending fell to 0.25 per cent of GNI between 2000 and 2005. The most generous donors, France and Britain, spent 0.47 and 0.48 per cent respectively.
Of the total $US81.7 billion ($A107 billion) allocated in aid each year, Australia spent only $US1.6 billion.
The report says that if Australia granted bilateral debt relief to the Philippines and Indonesia, it could save more than 20,000 children's lives in Indonesia and 1000 in the Philippines.
To learn more, click on: Make Poverty History
To read the original article from The Age, click on:
The Age
posted by Pax Christi @ Wednesday, November 15, 2006
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