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Aid Effectiveness Network news

Newsletter - January 2006

Highlights

• Report on Aid Effectiveness in Vietnam
• Sierra Leone's Poverty Reduction Strategy paper
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) book on policy coherence in East Asia

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Aid Relationships

Poverty Reduction Strategies

• The Government of Sierra Leone has developed a comprehensive Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) structured around good governance, security and peace building; promoting food security and job creation; and promoting human development. A World Bank Trust Fund has been developed to help deliver the PRSP objectives. DFID has pledged £26 million for budget support, the PRSP Trust Fund and electoral reform.
   
• The Halifax Initiative's paperDriving under the influence: Senegal’s PRSP process concludes that the PRSP process was dominated by the demands of the International Finance Institutions rather than being country-led. To increase local participation, it recommends that more capacity development support is needed for national government and non-governmental bodies.
   

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Aid Harmonisation and Alignment

• The Government of Vietnam and donors' 2005 annual report on Aid Effectiveness in Vietnam outlines the targets on aid effectiveness and corresponding monitoring mechanisms. It also describes the recent development of the Hanoi Core Statement on Aid Effectiveness. Contact Lam Chi Dung for more details.
   
• DFID's Regional Policy Units have provided details on how Public Service Agreements (PSA) countries are progressing towards targets set in theParis Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. This will feed into DFID's Action Plan on Aid Effectiveness, demonstrating how DFID will take forward the Paris Declaration. Contact Sue Bassett for more details.

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Aid Instruments

Poverty Reduction Budget Support

• TheStrategic Partnership for Africa (SPA) plenary took place on 17-18 January in Ghana to discuss economic trends in Africa, financing issues and capacity development in Africa. This will be preceded by SPA working group meetings on General Budget and Sector Budget Support. Contact Jennie Barugh for more information.

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Policy Coherence

• The World Trade Organisation talks in Hong Kong resulted in some progress. An end date of 2013 was set for export subsidies; all developed countries will grant duty-free and quota-free market access for at least 97% of products originating from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) by 2008; and a taskforce has been established for the new 'aid for trade' initiative. However, very little progress was made in the area of market access, where the real development gains stand to be made. The outcome paves the way for further talks keeping open the prospect of a successful conclusion to the Doha round.
   
• The OECD Development Centre's book onPolicy Coherence Towards East Asia: Development Challenges for OECD Countries looks at the impact of OECD-country policies on the region in the areas of trade, investment, agriculture, finance and aid. The book proposes guidelines for adopting coherent policies conducive to development.

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Development Financing

Scaling Up

• The World Bank and OECD Development Assistance Committee co-chaired a donor meeting to discuss scaling up in December. They agreed to collect information about future aid flows from donors, and to organise a series of 'results and resources' meetings about scaling up in developing countries. Contact Gary Jenkins for more information.

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Multilateral Aid Effectiveness

• The European Parliament has now endorsed the Joint Declaration on Development Policy:'The European Consensus on Development'.

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Other Aid Effectiveness Information

• TheUN International Anti-Corruption Day took place on 9 December 2005. The Secretary of State confirmed that DFID will drive implementation of theCommission for Africa recommendations on corruption across Her Majesty's Government.

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DFID's Development Effectiveness Group Restructuring Update

• DFID's Poverty Reduction Strategies and Harmonisation (PRSH) team's work on country led approaches will move to the expanding new Aid Effectiveness (Country Partnerships) Team in East Kilbride, led by Helen Wedgwood, throughout the first half of this year. The PRSH team in London will take on G8 and bilateral relationships from the 2005 unit at the end of January. Contact Greg Briffa for information on the G8, and Matthew Sudders on bilateral relationships.

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Recent and Upcoming Events

• The Overseas Development Institute will present a lunchtime seminar on country level mutual accountability mechanisms at DFID's London office on 9th February. Contact Anna Walters for more information.
  The next online six week Anti-Corruption training course starts on the 30th January. Contact Sheona Duff for more details.
   
• The Brazilian Court of Audit staff will share experiences of developing performance audit in Brazil at a lunchtime seminar at DFID's London office on 27 January. Contact Julie Lynn for more information.
   

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If you want to keep abreast of the latest in aid effectiveness, please e-mail Louise Mellor who will add your name to the mailing list. Please also let us know of any news you have which relates to Aid Effectiveness. We will be glad to publicise anything you are doing.

All the best,

James Bird
Louise Mellor
Anna Walters