NN42, June 2009
A Safari Towards Aid Effectiveness?
The Paris Declaration: Myth or Reality?
By Djénéba Traoré, ERNWACA Regional Coordinator, Bamako
Email: dtraore@rocare.orgKeywords
Paris Declaration
Summary
This article asks what remains of the Paris Declaration that decision-makers of developed and developing countries addressed in unison.
The Paris Declaration for the effectiveness of aid, endorsed on March 2, 2005, created a huge hope among people living in developing countries.
Today however, what remains of this historic message that decision-makers of developed and developing countries addressed in unison to the whole world? Naturally, the negative impact of the international economic and financial crisis, which has been affecting a large number of donor countries since 2008, has perhaps thwarted the dreams of a better quality of life and a better future for millions of people living in countries which are classified among the poorest of the planet.
But first of all, what is the originality of the aid advocated by the Paris Declaration and what is its conditionality?
Before responding to this question, a brief historic recall seems to be necessary: the year 1990 marks the turn where aid to the African countries began to be made conditional on the institution of democracy (political pluralism and rule of law). This process was illustrated the very same year by the National Conference of Benin which conducted a model of smooth democratic transition, contrary to other countries like Mali where democracy was born in March 1991 in tears and blood.
With the birth of the democracy, or let's say with the very shy beginning of a multi-party democratic system, in some African States where the ordinary citizens have still difficulties in understanding the basic principles of a real democratic culture, aid has been conditioned on good governance and the struggle against corruption. Unfortunately without any significant results ?
And now?
The High-Level Forum on the effectiveness of aid, which brought together in Paris ministers from developed and from developing countries, had resolutely taken a stand for the ?increase of aid effects on the reduction of poverty and inequalities, the strengthening of economic growth, the building of capacities and the acceleration on the way to reach the MDGs on a spirit of mutual engagement.
However, what is the situation four years after the Paris Declaration and about one year after the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) of September 2008 in the Ghanaian capital city?
The Paris Declaration, followed by the High-Level Forum of Accra, has opened the way for a cooperation more oriented in the direction of the hard working people in Africa. In this approach one fact is indisputable and paradoxical: the effectiveness of aid will only reach its objectives when African States and African people will have learned to live without aid! In order to reach this goal, the donor countries must ensure that the State acts with the Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the associations of civil society working with the most underprivileged social strata in the development area in countries where the aid comes from.
What kind of major actions can be undertaken?
To guarantee sustainable development and to assure the best future for the coming generations, it is necessary to help the African educational systems to be more effective. For more than two decades, education in Africa has faced numerous difficulties and must tackle many challenges in both formal (preschool, primary, secondary, higher education) and non formal settings. These issues have one common denominator: the lack of financial means as well as the lack of expertise and technologies. Several research studies have confirmed that sustainable development cannot take place until the human resources are sufficiently well trained in terms of quality and quantity in order to be the essential vector of social progress. We need to focus on this because, despite the good will of the donors, aid to countries in development won't be eternal!
To be effective, aid must be first oriented toward the improvement of the quality of the African educational systems, because to make Africa move away from underdevelopment, it is necessary to invest in the capacity of its human resources.
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