Comparing Official Development Assistance (ODA) figures between 2005 and 2006, in percentage of national income, the U.S. fell from 0.22 to 0.17, Italy from 0.29 to 0.20 and Japan from 0.28 to 0.25, while France and Germany stagnated at 0.47 and 0.36 respectively; only the U.K. increased from 0.47 to 0.52. Furthermore, a large share of aid delivered in the past two years has actually been debt relief (much of that for Iraq). The picture for sub-Saharan Africa is bleak; excluding debt relief, aid to the region is stagnant, and no poor country has seen the increase in aid that would enable it to achieve the Millennium Goals by 2015.
All we have to do is contribute 0.7% of our national income and we've regressed to 0.17%. It's not just tragic, it's absolutely shocking. This cannot continue, can it, if we want to be the change we wish to see in the world?
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