Development aid at highest level ever: OECD

A 30 country group that monitors development aid says giving to the under-developed world is at the highest levels ever.

Poverty fighting advocates are applauding the following figures, but urge that the poor nations must receive the money immediately.

Our snippet of the release comes from the Straits Times.

DEVELOPMENT aid given by OECD member states rose by 10.2 per cent in 2008 to a record US$119.8 billion (S$182 billion), despite the global financial downturn, the organisation said on Monday.

The total marks the highest dollar figure ever recorded, the 30-country Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development said, three days before the G20 summit to tackle the financial crisis is held in London.

The figures refer to the OECD's aid agency, its 22-member Development Assistance Committee (DAC) which includes the world's most advanced economies.

Aid to Africa totalled $26 billion in 2008, of which $22.5 billion went to sub-Saharan countries.

The largest donors by volume in 2008 were the United States, Germany, Britain, France and Japan.

Five countries exceeded the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income: Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.