{"id":988,"date":"2025-10-02T04:00:51","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T04:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/towards-more-effective-aid\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T04:00:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T04:00:51","slug":"towards-more-effective-aid","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/blogs\/busan-high-level-forum\/towards-more-effective-aid\/","title":{"rendered":"Towards More Effective Aid"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"content column wide left blog_post content view\" id=\"content\">\n<div class=\"edit image\">\n\t<\/div>\n<article class=\"fader\">\n<header class=\"contents\">\n<div class=\"share\">\n\t\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n    var addthis_config = {\n        ui_language = 'en'\n    }\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"addthis sharing\">\n\t<!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --><\/p>\n<div class=\"addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style\" addthis:title=\"Towards more effective aid\">\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_twitter\" tw:via=\"thebrokeronline\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_facebook\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_pinterest_share\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_preferred_4\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_compact\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_counter addthis_bubble_style\"><\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<p>\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_config = data_track_addressbar;<\/script><br \/>\n\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/js\/300\/addthis_widget.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n\t<!-- AddThis Button END -->\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"addthis article_options\">\n\t\t<!-- \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/mandrill\/subscription\/add\/18362\/19821\">Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t -->\n    \t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTowards more effective aid<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"pubDate\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/experts-and-authors\/van-trotsenburg-axel\/\">Axel van Trotsenburg<\/a>\t\t|<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t30 November 2025\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"body contents\">\n\t<!-- body --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"><b><\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nI have some good and some not so good news about aid. First, the good news. The aid landscape has<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nseen three important changes during the last decade that have had a transformative, positive effect on<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>the very nature of aid.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Axel van Trotsenburg, Vice President CFP<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nI have some good and some not so good news about aid. First, the good news. The aid landscape has<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nseen three important changes during the last decade that have had a transformative, positive effect on<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>the very nature of aid.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nOne of these changes has been the increased focus on the quality of aid\u2014especially on the results<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nbeing achieved on the ground. The World Bank and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/ida\/\" target=\"_blank\">IDA, the Bank\u2019s fund for the poorest<\/a>, have placed a<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>premium on having a real impact in the work we support, and the results show.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nThe second change has been the substantial increase in the volume of aid, including massive debt relief<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nto the world\u2019s poorest and most indebted countries. Both increased aid volumes and debt relief have<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>helped achieve much progress on several Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nAnd third, support for developing countries is no longer purely OECD-centric, but is counting increasingly<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>on middle-income countries to shore up the assistance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nNow for the not so good news. Progress on the MDGs is being made, but not enough. Results are being<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nproduced, but we can do better. And fragmentation of aid is still standing in the way of further progress.<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nWe still duplicate efforts, and donors still tend toward heavy earmarking of aid. The result is often<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\npoorer coordination and higher transaction costs for all, especially in the form of additional burdens<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\non developing countries. These higher costs represent an unacceptable source of waste in an already<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>fiscally stressed environment for many donor countries. We can do better.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nAnother fear is that the resource mobilization efforts of the past decade may not be sustained and<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>actually are at risk of being reversed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nAnd while more and more middle-income countries are emerging as new development partners,<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nwe have yet to fully understand and exploit the potential of this partnership. We need a much more<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\ninclusive dialog that incorporates traditional and new development partners to find the best ways to<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nwork together to support lower-income countries. This dialog could benefit from mutual listening and<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>learning, and sharing of information.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nWe at the World Bank have taken a couple of concrete steps to facilitate this engagement. For example,<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nour new <a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/open\/\" target=\"_blank\">open development <\/a>agenda makes freely available the Bank\u2019s vast <a href=\"http:\/\/data.worldbank.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">data<\/a> and knowledge<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nstorehouse, allowing others to understand what we do and <a href=\"http:\/\/live.worldbank.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">join the debate<\/a>, ultimately improving our<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\ndevelopment approach and results. In fact, the World Bank (IBRD and IDA) was recently named the<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nglobal aid transparency leader in Publish What You Fund\u2019s Aid Transparency Index. IDA also placed<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nin the top ten for all measures of aid effectiveness by the Center for Global Development\u2019s new Aid<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>Effectiveness Index.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nAt the same time, we\u2019re taking action to build a global coalition that links traditional donors with<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nnew aid partners. A case in point is the latest round of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/ida\/\" target=\"_blank\">IDA<\/a> replenishment, during which emerging<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\npartners jacked up their contributions while traditional donors stretched their giving despite fiscal<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>stress.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nThe debate on aid effectiveness going this week in Busan needs to take a hard look at the changing aid<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\narchitecture\u2014the trends behind it, the challenges and the opportunities. That includes finding ways to<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\nstrengthen this new type of coalition, which not only will shape the aid architecture of the future, but<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>also holds the most promise for achieving lasting development results.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">_____________<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Related resources:&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n&#8211; \u201cFinance for Development: Trends and Opportunities in a Changing Landscape\u201d &#8211;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/cfpext\/resources\/299947-1322067209001\/workingpaper_financefordevelopmenttrendsandopportunities.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Working Paper<\/a><br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\n| <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/cfpext\/resources\/299947-1322067209001\/twopager_financefordevelopmenttrendsandopportunities.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Brief<\/a><br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/><br \/>\n&#8211; Website: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/ida\/\" target=\"_blank\">IDA, the World Bank\u2019s Fund for the Poorest<\/a><br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>&#8211; Website: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aidflows.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">AidFlows<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n<p class=\"credit\">Photo credit main picture: Pot &#8216;o gold, by Nancy Waldman<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<!-- body -->\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<section class=\"commentform content column wide left\">\n<div class=\"disqus_content\">\n\t\t\t<a name=\"comments\" id=\"comments\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"disqus_thread\"><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t\t\t\t\/* * * CONFIGURATION VARIABLES: EDIT BEFORE PASTING INTO YOUR WEBPAGE * * *\/\n\t\t\t\tvar disqus_shortname = 'broker'; \/\/ required: replace example with your forum shortname\n\t\t\t\tvar disqus_identifier = '8211';\n\t\t\t\t\/* * * DON'T EDIT BELOW THIS LINE * * *\/\n\t\t\t\tfunction trackComment(comment)\n\t\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(comment);\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\tfunction disqus_config() {\n\t\t\t\t\tthis.callbacks.onNewComment = [function() { \n\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(comment);\n\t\t\t\t\t}];\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t(function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tvar dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type = 'text\/javascript'; dsq.async = true;\n\t\t\t\t\tdsq.src = '\/\/' + disqus_shortname + 'https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/blogs\/busan-high-level-forum\/.disqus.com\/embed.js';\n\t\t\t\t\t(document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(dsq);\n\t\t\t\t})();\n\t\t\t<\/script><br \/>\n\t\t\t<!--\n\t\t\t<noscript>Please enable JavaScript to view the <a href=\"http:\/\/disqus.com\/?ref_noscript\">comments powered by Disqus.<\/a><\/noscript>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/disqus.com\" class=\"dsq-brlink\">comments powered by <span class=\"logo-disqus\">Disqus<\/span><\/a>\n\t\t\t-->\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false,"raw":""},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Towards more effective aid Axel van Trotsenburg | 30 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template_2.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-988","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Towards more effective aid \/ Busan High Level Forum \/ Blogs - The Broker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I have some good and some not so good news about aid. 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