Publish What You Fund, May 2011

What is ‘aid transparency’ and why does it matter?

Aid is a scarce and precious resource. When spent well, it saves lives, puts kids into school, and promotes long-term development. But at the moment no one knows exactly where aid money is going, or what impact it is having. This undermines the potential of aid and its effectiveness.

If more information was made available about aid flows then: ?

• Donors could make sure they were not duplicating each other’s work;
• Recipients would know what they were getting and plan their spending accordingly;
• Citizens in donor and recipient countries could hold their governments to account;
• We could reduce waste, corruption and gaps in funding.

Most importantly we could all be sure that aid was being spent as effectively as possible.

Why now?

This year is critical. Governments have promised to make their aid more transparent. In November at a big meeting in Korea they will measure their progress so far.

At a time when many governments’ budgets are under pressure and the effectiveness of international aid is being scrutinised, increased aid transparency is an easy win that could deliver a huge boost to poverty reduction efforts.

What can I do?

We need as many people as possible to join the call for aid transparency so that governments feel compelled to keep their promises. Sign the petition calling on donors to make their aid more transparent at www.makeaidtransparent.org.

The petition will be presented to political leaders at key moments throughout the year – with the first handover planned at an OECD meeting in Paris in July.

Showing public support at this crucial time could help revolutionise the future of aid.