Accra, Sept 5 (IPS) A government minister from the world’s youngest nation – and also one of its poorest – told a meeting of powerful global bankers today exactly how hard it is to extract aid from rich countries.

Emilia Pires, Minister of Finance of Timor Leste – or East Timor – told the 3rd High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in the Ghanaian capital yesterday conditionalities and bureaucracy made it difficult to obtain foreign aid that is sorely needed to develop her country.

Accra, Sept 5 (IPS) Delegates from both developing and developed countries yesterday adopted an Accra Agenda For Action (AAA) as a blueprint to provide a guide to improve the way aid is given and spent.

The document was adopted at the close of a three-day High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness which drew over 1200 delegates from about 120 to the Ghanaian capital.

Accra, Sept 5 (IPS) The ecological impact of natural resource exploitation on the lives of the poor in Africa and other regions is being not addressed sufficiently in aid effectiveness and development discussions, aid experts say.

“Africa is known as one of the richest parts of the world when it comes to natural resources, yet it is also the poorest region — despite the natural wealth and the aid flow,” said Charles Mutasa

Accra, Sep 4 (IPS) The President of Ghana, host to a global aid meet, told gathered ministers here today delays by rich nations in releasing aid money were threatening democratic governments in poor countries.

At the same time, he said Ghana – “in time – wanted to stop being an aid-dependent nation.

“Many recipient nations have established various frameworks for financial monitoring and accountability and procurement process,” John Kufuor said

“What we have is nice, slightly fuzzy and positive language, but there is no monitorable timetable-bound commitment.”

Aid is supposed to promote human rights. And human rights are supposed to make aid more effective. But what do you do when governments refuse to act?

Regimes that create conditions for aid to be blocked to their countries should be confronted by strengthening domestic civil societies who would challenge their bad ways, says Robert Fox, executive director of Oxfam Canada.

Alignment calls for donors to support the recipient country’s national development strategies, institutions and procedures to alleviate poverty within the recipient country.

Civil society is concerned that real political differences are “threatening our hopes of achieving the 2010 benchmarks” for aid effectiveness, Paul O’Brien, director of the Aid Effectiveness Team at Oxfam, warned participants at the round table discussion on alignment of aid yesterday.

IPS
Interview with Letty Chiwara, UNIFEM Cross Regional Programmes Manager
ACCRA, Sep 4 (IPS) – As the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness draws to a close in the Ghanaian capital, gender activists are reflecting on the way ahead. Having successfully raised the visibility of gender equality and women’s empowerment on the Accra Agenda, attention [...]

“Making the health and rights of women a global priority is not only the right thing to do, it is smart economics,” write Thoraya Ahmed Obaid and Theresa Shaver.

NEW YORK – The neighbour heard Husan Pari’s screams and went to help her. She was about to deliver her baby. A traditional birth attendant tried her best, but the baby just would not emerge. The birth attendant refused to help anymore.

The risks of not acting on climate change are grim, writes Yash Tandon, Executive Director of the South Centre.

GENEVA – There is much to celebrate in the growth and development of the South in recent years, from the ability of certain Latin American countries to avoid dependence on the North to the growth of the economies of certain Asian countries whose increasing sovereign wealth is now being tapped to bail out distressed banks in the North.