What is global aid?

Answer 1

At the Monterrey Conference in March of 2002, 22 of the world's wealthiest nations agreed to make "concrete efforts" in giving 0.7% of their national income toward aid for poverty reduction. This commitment was reaffirmed by the same nations at the Johannesburg Summit in September of 2002. The countries agreed on 0.7% because it was a minimal flat rate that all the countries would be able to afford. One way to look at it is for every $100 earned in the country, they give 70 cents in aid. It is important to note that this is an arbitrary figure, and merely represents a low mutual goal for aid levels.

16 of the 22 countries, as of 2010, had either reached the 0.7% goal or had a scheduled date for when to reach it. Norway, Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, and Netherlands, respectively have donated the most of their national income to aid. Norway leads with 110 cents for every $100, and Netherlands still exceed the 0.7 percent by donating 81 cents for every $100. The United States, on the other hand, comes in 19th of the 22 countries, donating only 21 cents for every $100 earned, that is less than 1% of the gross national income of the United States. Interestingly enough, most Americans think that 20% of the federal budget is spent on aid.

In 2010 the U.S. spent $530 billion on the military budget and $130 billion on war spending. In 2009, they spent $38 billion on foreign affairs. A change in this discrepancy could mean great funding for projects and programs abroad.

The Borgen Project aims to increase poverty-focused aid. When an NGO with a project idea applies for a grant, they get money from the State Department. Congressional leaders decide on the amount of money the State Department gets for global aid. Projects that apply for grants include the Millennium Villages Project. As a way to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals, this project approaches the task village by village in rural Africa. With a community-led, sustainable approach, the money used to fund this project is seeing real results. The project has seen malaria prevalence reduced as well as maize yields increase, among many things.

Global aid has the power to create real change through innovative projects on the ground. As of now, the United States is not keeping its promise to the 22 countries that agreed to donate 0.7% of their national income. As a leading power in the world, the U.S. is responsible to lead by example and do what it is capable of doing, donating more than 21 cents per $100 of its earnings. If congressional leaders know that enough of their constituents are concerned about this, they have the power to change it.