Wednesday 1 July 2009

In September 2000, the 189 countries of the United Nations unanimously agreed to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty,” specifically hunger and the “major diseases that afflict humanity.”

To accomplish this great objective would be expensive, and the price was later estimated at about $195 billion a year. It would be very difficult for this amount of money to be raised by private charities or individuals. It would require the combined efforts of governments throughout the world to do it.




COUNTRY For each $100 earned in the country, how much is donated in aid Aid as % of income How close the country is to reaching the 0.7% goal
Sweden 98 cents 0.98 Already reached goal
Luxembourg 92 cents 0.92 Already reached goal
Norway 88 cents 0.88 Already reached goal
Denmark 82 cents 0.82 Already reached goal
Netherlands 80 cents 0.80 Already reached goal
Ireland 58 cents 0.58 Scheduled to reach in 2012
Belgium 47 cents 0.47 Scheduled to reach in 2010
Spain 43 cents 0.43 Scheduled to reach in 2012
United Kingdom 43 cents 0.43 Scheduled to reach in 2013
Finland 43 cents 0.43 Scheduled to reach in 2010
Austria 42 cents 0.42 Scheduled to reach in 2015
Switzerland 41 cents 0.41 No schedule yet
France 39 cents 0.39 Scheduled to reach in 2012
Germany 38 cents 0.38 Scheduled to reach in 2014
Australia 34 cents 0.34 No schedule yet
Canada 32 cents 0.32 No schedule yet
New Zealand 30 cents 0.30 No schedule yet
Portugal 27 cents 0.27 Scheduled to reach in 2015
Greece 20 cents 0.20 Scheduled to reach in 2015
Italy 20 cents 0.20 Scheduled to reach in 2015
Japan 18 cents 0.18 No schedule yet
United States 18 cents 0.18 No schedule yet
Source: OECD. The figures for 2009 are due out in April 2010.

Countries Agree to 0.7% in International Aid

In the March 2002 Monterrey Conference, 22 of the world’s wealthiest countries (listed above) agreed to make “concrete efforts” towards the goal of each giving 0.7 per cent of their national income as aid to the poorest countries. This conference was attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, U.S. President George Bush, French President Jacques Chirac, and many other world leaders.

In the September 2002 Johannesburg Summit, these same 22 counties re-affirmed their commitment to reach the 0.7% goal. This would provide enough money to raise the $195 billion per year.

Why the 0.7% Agreement?

The countries made this agreement because they realized that it was hard for each country on its own to give a consistent, minimum level of aid each year. Despite good intentions, a country would find that the aid it wanted to give was eaten away by competing political interests, concern about budget deficits, “problems at home,” “problems abroad,” and so on. So they agreed to a minimal, flat rate that each country could afford each year regardless of its current political or economic state.

The 0.7% figure may sound complicated, but it is actually quite simple. You take the total income earned by all the people in the country and then the government gives 0.7% (seven tenths of one percent) of that as aid. Or to look at it another way: for every $100 earned in the country, the country gives 70 cents in aid.

How are the countries doing?

As the chart above shows, five countries have already met the goal to give 0.7% of their income in international aid: Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.

In 2002 and 2003, five other countries set up a schedule to give 0.7%: Belgium, Ireland, Finland, France, and Spain.

In July 2004, the United Kingdom set up a schedule to give 0.7%.

In April 2005, Germany set up a schedule to give 0.7%.

In May 2005, Austria, Greece, Italy, and Portugal set up a schedule to give 0.7%.

It was not easy for many of the countries to set up a schedule to reach the 0.7% goal. In some cases, such as Britain and Germany, it took the combined effort of many thousands of citizens writing and petitioning their government to get it done.

The remaining six countries

Only six countries have not yet set up a schedule to give 0.7%. These are Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United States. To raise the $195 billion a year, these six will need to reach the goal.

These six countries are all democracies. All that is necessary for them to reach the 0.7% goal is for enough of their citizens to show their support.

Sources: UN Millennium Project, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), The End of Poverty (Jeffrey D. Sachs), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

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