2012 was a fruitful year for the Reality of Aid Network (RoA), achieving its key objectives for the year and gearing up for new endeavors in 2013.
RoA published its biennial global report, the RoA 2012 Report on “Aid and the Private Sector: Catalysing Poverty Reduction and Development?” and launched it in Nairobi in December. The network also participated in the 2012 International Monetary Fund & World Bank Annual Meetings in Tokyo, Japan and organized a CSO side event on “Results and Sustainability: Rights-based Perspectives” in cooperation with RoA Asia Pacific, IBON International and Japanese NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC) in October 2012. It also actively contributed and participated in the policy and advocacy work of BetterAid and the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE).
1. International report launch in Nairobi
The Reality of Aid Network (RoA) held the international launching of the RoA 2012 Report on “Aid and the Private Sector: Catalysing Poverty Reduction and Development?” last December 7, 2012 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The report highlights that the engagement of the private sector in development cooperation must be consistent with the goals of development effectiveness, ensure inclusive development and focus on reducing poverty and socioeconomic inequalities.
Both guest speakers, Jackson Kinyanjui, Director of External Resource Department of Kenya Ministry of Finance and Aregash Asfaw from the PPP Unit of the German Agency for International Cooperation, commended RoA for taking the initiative to gather CSO perspectives from the North and South and consolidating them into one book. They also agreed on the importance of examining aid and private sector role and expressed openness to continue discussions and dialogue.
28 CSO partners submitted a total of 30 contributions (11 thematic chapters, global aid trends, 18 country chapters) to this edition of the RoA biennial report that tackles issues on aid and development cooperation.
To know more about the Report check out Aid and the private sector – who benefits?
2. RoA participation in the 2012 IMF-WB Annual Meetings
The RoA participated in the 2012 International Monetary Fund & World Bank Annual Meetings in Tokyo, Japan in October. It organized a CSO side event on “Results and Sustainability: Rights-based Perspectives” on October 10 in cooperation with RoA Asia Pacific, IBON International and Japanese NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC).
The forum looked into the results and sustainability assumptions and expectations of current development programs and strategies through rights based approaches. It aimed to draw lessons from various perspectives to achieve a sustainable, inclusive agenda for development.
The forum provided a space to discuss various questions that include: How are results identified and defined? What are the implications for communities, ecosystems and the commons? Will these foster genuine results for human rights and sustainable development?
Speakers who provided insights on these issues were from the Pacific Islands Association of NGOs, Forum of Women’s NGOs of Kyrgyzstan, JANIC and RoA.
3. Active involvement in global CSO policy and advocacy on development effectiveness
RoA, through its active participation in the policy and advocacy work of BetterAid and the newly established CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE), was able to contribute to CSO learning and engagement throughout 2012.
It was also able to make its advocacies known in various CSO and official events such as BetterAid-Open Forum meetings, Working Party on Aid Effectiveness meetings, Building Blocks (Public-Private Cooperation, Effective Institutions, South-South Cooperation) meetings, IMF-WB Annual Meetings, the OECD Global Forum on Public Governance, among others.
4. RoA publications
Aside from the RoA 2012 Report on Aid and the Private Sector, the network also released two issues of the Reality Check magazine, its official newsletter designed to highlight current issues in the aid regime written from a regional perspective but with global significance. The June issue focused on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development, while the October issue was on the World Bank and Conditionality.
The Reality Check on “Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development” provides a critical discussion on neoliberal policies that are incoherent towards achieving sustainable development. The Reality Check on the “World Bank and Conditionality: Undermining Democratic Ownership” looks into the role of the World Bank in developing countries and on the direct and indirect conditionalities that the Bank implements and their effects to the recipient countries.
These publications are circulated in RoA’s website and listservs to provide information on various aid and development issues to the members and other CSOs.
These can be downloaded for free at Reality Check