Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, chair of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), discusses financing sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Official Development Assistance (ODA) from DAC members has risen 70% since 1990 and helped reduce extreme poverty rates, but there is still a large funding gap. New forms of development finance must be supported to help achieve the SDGs and close this gap. The DAC monitors development funding, sets standards, and is modernizing to better reflect the role of private sector investment and new financial instruments in sustainable development. More work is needed to reform the DAC and engage partners to ensure delivery of the ambitious SDGs.
1. Charlotte Petri Gornitzka
Development Assistance Committee Chair
Financing Sustainable
Development in the 21st Century
5th OECD Parliamentary Days
Paris, 9 February 2017
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• 836 million people still live in extreme poverty.
• In 2015, 10.2 per cent of the world’s workers were living
with their families on less than $1.90 per person per day.
About one in five persons in developing regions lives on less
than $1.25 per day.
• In 2014, nearly 1 in 4 children under the age of 5, an
estimated total of 159 million children had stunted growth.
• In 2013, 59 million children of primary-school age were out
of school.
• 1.1 billion people do not have access to electricity
Why is this so important?
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ODA is fundamental to delivering the SDGs
• Since 1990, net Official Development Assistance (ODA) has risen by more than 70%.
• At the same time, extreme poverty rates have been cut by more than half.
• DAC ODA plays a huge part in financing for development: e.g. total official flows for
water and sanitation were $10 billion in 2014, of which total aid flows from DAC
donors amounted to $8 billion.
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But there is likely to be a gap in investment:
ODA cannot meet all of this
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Total external finance to developing countries 2000-2014 from bilateral
and multilateral providers
Long term trends in financing for development
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What is the DAC and what does it do?
• The DAC comprises thirty like-minded nations, all of whom have
agreed, as donors, to undertake and account for their development
activities on a common basis. DAC members provide more than
three-quarters of the worlds Official Development Assistance
(ODA).
• The DAC:
• Monitors ODA and other financial flows.
• Holds its members to account, through a set of rules and a
system of peer reviews ensuring ODA is properly accounted for,
ensuring taxpayers money is used for truly developmental
purposes.
• Shares best practice, setting the standards and improving policy
making through high quality evidence and analysis.
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How is the DAC modernising?
Two examples:
1) The DAC is changing the ODA system to better reflect the role of
ODA in catalyzing Private Sector investment in development
activities.
2) The DAC is creating a new measurement, Total Official Support for
Sustainable Development (TOSSD), which will include more
financial instruments.
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Future of DAC
There is more to do at this critical time:
• DAC reform
• Outreach and partnering building ties with other development
actors
• Ensuring SDG agenda is core and members are supported to
deliver these challenging aims
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Our questions for you…
Q. How can the DAC engage better with parliamentarians?
Q. What are your parliaments doing to support delivery of the SDGs?
Q. What are the main challenges to delivery of the SDGs?
