Chigozie Amadi
International aid from official donors rose by 1.8 per cent in 2023 to an all-time high of $223.7 billion, up from $211 billion in 2022, as provider countries increased aid flows to Ukraine and directed more humanitarian assistance to developing countries.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) revealed this in a new report.
Although the organisation’s report did not disclose the total aid to Nigeria in 2023, it had earlier reported that Nigeria received over $36.16 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA) between 2015 and 2022.
The United States of America also recently said it provided Nigeria with over $1.2 billion aid last year.
According to the new OECD report, in 2023, the1.8 per cent rise in real terms was the latest in a series of annual increases in Official Development Assistance (ODA) provided by members of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the fifth consecutive year that ODA has set a new record.
ODA is government aid that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and welfare of developing countries.
The DAC adopted ODA as the “gold standard” of foreign aid in 1969 and it remains the main source of financing for development aid.
It emerged that total aid in 2023 was up by a third from 2019 levels, reflecting the additional aid provided since, related to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
However, at 0.37 per cent of DAC donors’ combined Gross National Income (GNI) for a second year running, the ODA total still falls short of a long-standing UN target of 0.7% ODA to GNI.
Of the DAC members, five countries – Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway and Sweden – exceeded the 0.7 per cent UN ODA/GNI target in 2023.
The biggest providers of aid by volume were the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and France.
The OECD report indicated that in 2023, out of the 31 DAC member countries, ODA was higher in 14 countries and lower in 17 DAC countries, due in many cases to lower refugee costs and, in some cases, lower levels of loans provided.
ODA rose for EU Institutions too, which are also a DAC member.
ODA to Ukraine, where Russia’s war of aggression is entering its third year, rose by 9 per cent in 2023 to reach $20 billion, including $3.2 billion of humanitarian aid.
