The Reality of Aid network

The Reality of Aid project is the only major north/south international non-governmental initiative focusing exclusively on analysis and lobbying for poverty eradication policies and practices in the international aid regime.

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DEFEND DEVELOPMENT: A Call to Governments to Act Urgently in the Face of Economic and Financial Crises

The world economy is well into its worst social and economic crisis of a century. There is financial crisis, food crisis, fuel crisis, climatic shifts, soaring poverty and a distressing uncertainty about how the economic turmoil will play out in the coming period. Despite their best efforts, the most advanced capitalist countries have already fallen into recession. The underdeveloped countries will consequently suffer. Trade and investment liberalization eroded domestic agriculture and industry, drastically undermined domestic savings and government revenues, and resulted in destabilizing capital flight.

Governments in both developed and developing countries are scrambling to take measures to arrest the further deterioration of their economies. At the global level there is already discussion about stronger multilateral monitoring, regulation and even intervention which is ironically what the Bretton Woods were castigating developing countries’ governments about as wrong models of development for the South.

This is a critical moment for global social and economic development. There needs to be decisive action not just to arrest the descent but to address the basic problems of distorted development that underpin these crises in the first place. These actions however must not just be swift but correct.

Governments of the developing countries are urged to push for actions that immediately address urgent problems emerging from the current financial and economic turmoil. There must also be efforts that tackle the underdevelopment persisting even before the recent tumult.

The recently concluded G20 meeting did not result in any meaningful course of action. However, the need for decisive globally coordinated action remains and the repercussions of the financial crisis on the real economy and people’s lives are set to intensify in the coming months and years, making lives difficult especially for women and children. The International Conference on Financing for Development must produce genuine and concrete commitments.

To view the full statement, click here. Scroll below to sign on.
To sign-on to this call or view signatories, click here.

Reality of Aid Network launch 2008 Report on “Aid Effectiveness: Democratic Ownership and Human Rights”

Accra, Ghana - Civil society organizations (CSOs) are unanimous in highlighting the failure of aid to effectively deliver progress to communities around the world, as explained in the Reality of Aid 2008 Report , “Aid Effectiveness: Democratic Ownership and Human Rights” which was launched on September 1 during the CSO Parallel Forum on Aid Effectiveness.

The Reality of Aid 2008 Report Launch in New Zealand

Wellington, New Zealand - The Council for International Development (CID) successfully launched the Reality of Aid 2008 Report on Aid Effectiveness: Democratic Ownership and Human Rights on October 17.

Brief report on implementation of the project: NGO initiative for Aid Effectiveness

Mongolia’s Centre for Human Rights and Development, with technical and financial assistance from the two international civil society organizations, The Reality of Aid and The Better Aid respectively organized an ‘NGO initiative for Aid Effectiveness’ on September 30-October 2, 2008. This NGO initiative consisted of two parts: an NGO Forum and a Multi-stakeholder Consultative Meeting.

Post Accra Workshop Schedules

NGO Initiative for Aid Effectiveness
Date: September 30 -October 2, 2008
Venue: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Organisers: Centre for Human Rights and Development and The Reality of Aid Network

Regional Central Asia Consultation of Civil Society: Accra Agenda for Action, Civil Society Organisations and Aid Effectiveness
Date: October 7-8, 2008
Venue: Bishkek Kyrgyzstan
Organisers: Forum of Women’s NGOs, BetterAid and The Reality of Aid

West Africa Post Accra Multi-stakeholder's Workshop on CSOs, Aid Reform and development effectiveness
Date:November 3-5, 2008
Venue: Cotonou, Benin
Organisers: The Reality of Aid Network and Groupe de Recherche et d'Action pour la Promotion de l'Agriculture et du Développement (GRAPAD)

Post Accra Aid Effectiveness Workshop for South Asia CSOs
Date: November 22-23, 2008
Venue: Bangalore, India
Organisers: The Reality of Aid Network and IBON South Asia

Accra Agenda for Action

Ministers of developing and donor countries responsible for promoting development and Heads of multilateral and bilateral development institutions endorsed the following statement in Accra, Ghana, on 4 September 2008 to accelerate and deepen implementation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2 March 2005).

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Downloadable RoA Reports 2008

cover image Downloadable PDF copies of the RoA 2008 report can be downloaded in full or in parts here.

To order, please email the RoA Secretariat at secretariat(at)realityofaid.org.

Download the latest Reality Check issues


April 2008 Aid for Trade	July 2008 Global vertical programmes: A tale of too many funds	August 2008 Civil society and development effectiveness: Another view

To order, please email the RoA Secretariat at secretariat(at)realityofaid.org.

Statement of Reality of Aid (ROA) at the Conclusion of the 3rd High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness

Here in Accra, CSOs held a parallel forum on aid effectiveness with 700 participants from over 80 countries and there were 80 CSO participants in the official high level forum.

Declaración de la red “realidad de la ayuda” (Reality of Aid) en la conclusión del Tercer Foro de Alto Nivel Sobre Eficacia de la Ayuda

Civil society statement in Accra warns urgency for action on aid

2008 is an important year for development financing and an opportunity to move the international community to a more equitable, people-centred and democratic governance system. Today 1.4 billion people live under the new poverty line of US$1.25, and the majority of them are women. The current financial, food, energy, and climate change crises make evident the urgency for action.

Media releases on Ghana HLF3

World aid summit makes marginal progress to reform ineffective aid
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Reality of Aid in 2008:Aid Reform Must Deepen By 2011
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Speech to the Ministerial Dinner

This speech was delivered in the Ministerial Dinner during the High Level Forum in Accra, Ghana, 3 September 2008.

CSO Statement on Aid and the Debt Crisis

Debt remains a severe problem for underdeveloped countries and their citizens over two decades since the explosion of the debt crisis in the early 1980s. It continues to hinder development, consign economies to backwardness, and keep generations of people in poverty and deprivation. The rapid descent of the global economy into greater turmoil in 2008 makes the situation even more urgent. The plight of those who have long been mired in poverty is worsening and underscores the pressing need to resolve the debt burden afflicting scores of countries and the majority of people on the planet.

Civil Society Forum Declaration to 12th Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XII)
Accra, 19 April 2008

The Civil Society Forum, meeting on the occasion of UNCTAD XII (20-25 April 2008), took place in Accra, Ghana from 17 to 19 April 2008. It convened social movements, pro-development groups, women’s groups, trade unions, peasants and agricultural organizations, environmental organizations, faith-based organizations, and fair trade organizations, inter alia, (referred to as We thereafter) who expressed a variety of perspectives on trade, investment and competition policies, and their impacts on development. Participants of the forum are united in the defence of a number of principles, positions and actions that they wish to present to the member States of the United Nations Trade and Development Conference at its 12th session.

Changing Face of Global Development Finance - FINAL REPORT

In February 2008, the Halifax Initiative organized a conference on “The Changing Face of Global Development Finance – Impacts and implications for aid, development, the South and the Bretton Woods Institutions”. The Final Report is now available in English on-line. It includes a summary of the presentations and discussions at the conference.

A presentation on Development Finance and Aid Effectiveness on UNCTAD XII

A REALITY OF AID NETWORK and IBON FOUNDATION presentation on Development Finance and Aid Effectiveness during the UNCTAD XII Civil Society Forum.

New publication: Primer on Development and Aid Effectiveness

The issue of aid effectiveness has gained prominence in recent years especially with the signing of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness at the Paris High Level Forum II organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on February 28 - March 2, 2005. The Paris Declaration is an unprecedented achievement for the international donor community and the partner governments, committing themselves to key principles for aid reform. Since the aid effectiveness agenda is narrowly focused on aid management and delivery, there is little knowledge of the issue among broader circles of the development community and even more so among civil society organizations, parliaments, media and the public in general. It is often not understood that the aid effectiveness agenda actually addresses the crucial issues of reforming relationships in development cooperation and aid which are as old as official development aid itself.