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Point Seven

Since the 1970s, there has been an international consensus in support of the world's wealthy nations contributing a target of 0.7 percent of their gross national income to Official Development Assistance (ODA). ODA has a precise definition, but basically it means development aid to poor countries. The United States has signed numerous declarations in support of the 0.7 percent target, including:

• At the March 2002 International Conference on Financing for Development, Monterrey, Mexico, the U.S. signed the Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development, which included: “In that context, we urge developed countries that have not done so to make concrete efforts towards the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP) as ODA to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of GNP of developed countries to least developed countries, as reconfirmed at the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries, and we encourage developing countries to build on progress achieved in ensuring that ODA is used effectively to help achieve development goals and targets.”

• At the March 1995 World Summit for Social Development, Copehagen, Denmark, the U.S. signed the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development, which included: “At the international level, we will: . . . Strive for the fulfilment of the agreed target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for overall official development assistance as soon as possible, and increase the share of funding for social development programmes, commensurate with the scope and scale of activities required to achieve the objectives and goals of the present Declaration and the Programme of Action of the Summit; . . .”

Among the 22 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations, there are five that meet or exceed the 0.7% target: Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. The United States contributes just 0.16% of gross national income for ODA — the lowest share of all 22 OECD nations.