EU’s Plans to Double Aid Sends Strong Message to the World
26 May 2005
“The European Union’s commitment to double aid is a step in the right direction. I hope it will encourage others – the United States and Japan in particular – to follow suit,” said Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon, following the announcement that the European Union will double its aid to poor countries to US$80 billion by 2010.
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| Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon visiting a 'Women's Handicraft Development' project during his recent visit to Uganda. |
"This is good news for developing Commonwealth countries, particularly in Africa. It's good news for the 75 million children who have no school to go to and for the 1 billion people in the Commonwealth who go to bed on an empty stomach every night."
The Secretary-General pointed out that the EU announcement would help build the momentum in the run-up to the G8 meeting in Gleneagles, UK, in July 2005 and the Millennium Development Goals meeting in New York in September 2005.
He cautioned that no impact will be seen on the ground until budgets had been committed: "The cheque is not in the post yet, but at least there is a strong intention to sign it."
Mr McKinnon also recalled that rich countries' target of 0.7 per cent of national wealth being spent on development was set 35 years ago and there was still no hope of reaching it for another 10 years.
"We tend to forget that after the Second World War, each citizen in Europe received the equivalent of about US$220 under the US Marshall Plan. Today, in real terms, EU aid to Africa amounts to less than US$10 per African citizen -- that's 22 times less than they received! This is the time for Europeans to show the kind of generosity that they had benefited from 50 years ago."
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