The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development covers 17 goals, the 17th of which is “Partnerships for the goals,” namely: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
Under this major goal, there are 19 targets, the 17.2 of which is “Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income for official development assistance (ODA/GNI) to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries.”
Official development assistance reaches record high for fifth consecutive yearOfficial development assistance (ODA) is government aid that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and welfare of developing countries. ODA has been the main source of financing for development aid since it was adopted by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) as the “gold standard” of foreign aid in 1969.In 2023, official development assistance (ODA) from member countries of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) amounted to US$223.7 billion, reaching a new record level for the fifth consecutive year in 2023. This volume represents 0.37% of these countries’ collective gross national income. Five countries, including Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway and Sweden, surpassed the United Nations’ target to spend 0.7% of their GNI on ODA. In a world of cascading crises, ODA continues to be a reliable source of external finance for low- and middle-income countries.
Changes in amounts of ODA from 1960 to 2023. Graph: OECD Flourish Team
UK bilateral aid to China has declined rapidly
In July 2023, the Independent Commission on Aid Impact (ICAI) updated the information note on The UK’s aid engagement with China. ICAI found that total UK aid engaging China fell from about 80 million pounds in 2019 to about 48 million pounds in 2021-22 and to about 8 million pounds in 2023-24 plus ODA eligible administration costs. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office expects aid to China to remain at, or around, this level while China remains.
The 2023 update also reported that ICAI expected administration costs to fall to about 1 million pounds, and that there would be no further guaranteed ODA funding for the Great Britain-China Centre and the former DFID-China program in 2022‑23. Four of the five ODA programs managed by other government departments were due to cease spending by 2023-24. The Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund (IWTCF), managed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), would continue but with estimated spending with China of only 0.2 million pounds in 2023-24.
Source: Independent Commission for Aid Impact
Asian Development Bank provides affordable financing to farmers in TajikistanTajikistan is the poorest country in Central Asia. Although Tajikistan has achieved good results in poverty reduction, its gross national income per capita remains the lowest in Europe and Central Asia. Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved the Building Resilience with Active Countercyclical Expenditures (BRACE) Program in October 2022 to help the Government of Tajikistan expand social assistance for poor and vulnerable people, support domestic food production, safeguard small businesses, and support the employment of returning migrants. These areas were expected to be negatively impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Photo: Asian Development Bank
The BRACE program made 100 million somoni of affordable finance available in 2022 and 2023 for Tajikistan’s small businesses, the majority of which are food producers. With affordable loans, Tajikistan farmers enhanced crop yields and increased local food supply.Source: Asian Development BankMore than 2.5 million people benefit from the Least Developed Countries FundThe 67th meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council, the 36th meeting of the Least Developed Countries Fund/Special Climate Change Fund (LDCF/SCCF) Council, and the second meeting of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) Council were held in June 2024. The largest ever LDCF work program was agreed, in the amount of US$203 million, and includes projects and programs across 20 countries.
The GEF-managed Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) is the only multilateral fund that focuses exclusively on the unique climate adaptation needs of Least Developed Countries. LDCF provides support in several priority areas for adaptation including agriculture, water, food, health, nature-based solutions, infrastructure, and climate information services. The participating countries include 25 developed countries, including Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France and Germany. The contributions from donor countries are included as official development assistance (ODA).In FY23 annual monitoring review of the LDCF/SCCF, GEF Secretariat presented the results of 70 projects in the LDCF, including: reaching over 2.5 million beneficiaries, of which 50% are female; 317,540 hectares of land under management for climate resilience; 295 policies/plans developed to mainstream climate resilience; and 28,174 people trained, of which 49% are female.Source: Climate Funds Update, Earth Negotiations BulletinU.S. provides China with funding to protect Siberian tigers
The U.S. government is committed to providing US$240,000 to China in 2023, of which US$151,273 was spent by the Department of the Interior on a project “protecting Amur tigers via community-led engagement in northeast China.”This is a three-year project aiming to boost links “between park authorities and local residents by inviting villagers to directly participate in tiger conservation,” in return for funding to “improve quality of life in these villages.” Most of the other funding was spent on “direct administration costs” by the U.S. Agency for International Development, including money for personnel, travel expenses and “operations maintenance.”China and France strengthen cooperation and financing on marine biodiversityChina and France pledged to increase cooperation on biodiversity and ocean protection in May 2024. Government departments from the two countries signed 18 further cooperation agreements, three of which relate to ecology and the environment. These include work on green development and conservation.
In accordance with the relevant decisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the two countries will promote a significant increase in funding for biodiversity conservation from all sources, including national, international, public and private resources, including international financing for biodiversity conservation provided to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing states and countries with economies in transition, by developed countries and parties that have voluntarily fulfilled their commitments. Such funding is expected to reach at least US$20 billion a year globally by 2025 and at least US$30 billion a year globally by 2030. All sources of finance will be mobilized, including multilateral development banks and the private sector. China and France will earmark some of these funds to protect marine and coastal biodiversity.Source: Dialogue Earth, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of ChinaSustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiated by the United NationsOn January 1, 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including 169 targets, of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit — officially came into force. Countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change while ensuring that no one is left behind.
