The bilateral assistance consists of what is known as Official Assistance in Development, from the countries that are part of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).
As a part of the international commitments that the developed countries assumed within the framework of the United Nations, it was established that they would allocate 0.7% of its net income of the GDP for assistance to development.
When a developed country or donor establishes an agreement of cooperation with another developing country and the resources are concessionary (do not include loans nor interests) it is known as bilateral assistance.
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Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is the federal government agency responsible for about 78% of Canada's aid. The Department of Finance and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International trade administer the other 22%, which have responsibility for specific aspects of the aid programme, such as multilateral contributions to the World Bank and other international organizations. CIDA works in partnership with developing countries, Canadian organization, institutions and businesses, as well as international organizations and agencies.
The purpose for Canada's Official Development Assistance Program is to support sustainable development in developing countries in order to reduce poverty and to contribute to a more secure, equitable and prosperous world. In 1997, Canada's development assistance consisted of 0,34% of the GNP. The objective of the CIDA programmes and projects is to facilitate the efforts of the people of developing countries to achieve self-sustainable economic and social development in accordance with their needs and environment, in cooperationg with them in the developing activities; and to provide humanitarian assistance. To achieve this, the aid programme concentrates on the following six priorities: basic human needs; gender equality; infrastructure services; human rights, democracy and good governance; private sector development and environment.
For additional information on CIDA please visit: www.acdi-cida.gc.ca
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Danish Development Cooperation (DANIDA)
Denmark's net official development assistance totaled US$ 1.66 billions in 2000, reaching 1.06 % of its GNP. This level was by far the highest in the world, surpassing the 1% target established by the Danish Parliament for development assistance. The cooperation is administered by DANIDA, which merged into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992, and managed through the Danish embassies in the field..
The main principle of Danish development cooperation is to orient all aid toward poverty alleviation. It does so by supporting the developing countries in their endeavors to achieve economic growth and thereby secure social progress and political independence.
The strategy for Danish development cooperation was adopted in 1999 and revised the following year ("Partnership 2000"). It reconfirms Denmark's that poverty reduction is a fundamental principle of Danish assistance to developing countries and that development assistance must be organized in a manner that promotes:
- Sustainable economic growth, in which distribution policy constitutes an integral element of economic policy
- Development of the social sectors, including concentration on education, health and water supply
- Popular participation in the development process, building a society based on the rule of law and good administrative practice as prerequisites for stability in economic, social and political development
In the Danish development assistance, four cross-cutting themes are built in:
- Regard for women's participation in development
- Regard for the environment
- Promoting democracy
- Observing human rights
Denmark is also increasingly emphasizing the fight against HIV/AIDS, channeling funds primarily through multilateral agencies. This includes an assessment process regarding future Danish support for HIV/AIDS in Central America.
Denmark's assistance focuses primarily on sector programmes in 19 priority countries, 10 of these in the health sector. Priority countries in the Americas include Nicaragua, Bolivia and Nicaragua. Collaboration with PAHO centers on the project Occupational and Environmental Aspects of Exposure to Pesticides in the Central American Isthmus, a ten-year project involving seven countries. The third phase of this project is expected to be implemented over the 2002-2005 period.
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Finnish Department for International Development Cooperation (FDIDC)
Formerly known as FINNIDA
Finland's net official development assistance totaled US$ 370 millions in 2000, representing 0,31 % of its GNP. The cooperation is administered by FDIDC within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Finnish development cooperation is shaped by two major policy statements. The first one is the Cabinet's "Decision-in-principle" issued in September 1996 and establishing that Finnish cooperation is an integral part of Finland's foreign policy. The second statement, issued in 1998, establishes "Finland's Policy on Relations with Developing Countries". This policy gives top priority to poverty reduction in an effort to address human and ecological security. In order to reduce poverty, the policy also gives priority to the areas of equality, human rights and democracy, global environmental problems, and economic integration.
Finland's assistance is channeled to one entire sector, such as health care or agriculture. Within health care, main thematic areas of support include population, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS.
As far as bilateral aid is concerned, Finland emphasize that the developing countries are responsible for their own development and that the donor's role is always merely a supportive one. Twelve countries have been identified as long-term bilateral partners. In the Americas, Nicaragua is the top priority country. In terms of collaboration with PAHO, Finland is funding a US$ 3.6 million, 3 year-project on Support to the Service Coverage Extension at the Second Level of Health Care within the Integrated Health Care System (SIAS) in Guatemala.
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German Government and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ)
According to the guidelines of the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development the official goals of the German government are stated as:
- Combating poverty
- Protection of natural resources
- Education and Training
- Promotion of Women's role
Sustainable development is a key aspect of cooperation. Its focus is on:
- Productive economy growth
- Social justice
- Ecological sustainability
Within this, attention is given to:
- Private Sector Promotion
- Technology transfer
- Health in population policy
Crisis Prevention and emergency relief
The main emphasis of Germany's development assistance is on bilateral government-to-government cooperation. Next to the technical cooperation, there exist concessional credits and/or non-repayable financial contributions (grants) under financial cooperation. The financial cooperation (FC) is disbursed mainly in the form of concessional loans. Since 1978 they have been made available to the least developed countries (LDC) as non-repayable grants.
The German Government vested the GTZ with the responsibility for conducting technical cooperation activities. The GTZ also supports development and reform processes on behalf of other German government departments, partner-country governments and international organizations. It works on a public-benefit basis, using any surpluses exclusively for development-related purposes.
The "Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit" (GTZ) is a federal corporation with a development policy mandate. The aim of Germany's development policy is to improve the living conditions of people, particularly of the poorer sections of the population in Germany's partner countries.
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Netherlands Development Cooperation
The Netherlands wants to combat poverty in a sustainable manner. This is the principle of Dutch development cooperation. Sustainable can mean a number of things. In first instance however it means durable, in the sense their efforts are aimed at ensuring that a country, city, village or people will continue developing on their own, once the support stops. Sustainable means also that no harm is done to the environment. Any country that develops at the cost of its natural resources and healthy living environment must eventually pay the price, as the exhaustion of natural resources will lead to more poverty.
Poverty has many dimensions: Economic, Social and political. It is not just a matter of income. It is also the lack of access to and control over means of production, insufficient participation in the political process and a shortage of social services. The budget for development cooperation of the Netherlands in 2001 amounts to approximately HFL 8 Bln, or 0,8 % of BNP. It is one of a select group of countries surpassing the international recommended level as a percentage of BNP, for development cooperation.
The aid is distributed roughly through a cooperation mechanism of three categories:
1. Bilateral: (50%)
To a limited number of countries, implemented through their respective Embassies and Ministry. At present 21 countries are selected for sector support ( For the Americas BOL and NIC). In these countries The Netherlands does not seek to support projects in isolation but concentrate instead on whole sectors for example Education or Health. Ownership of the recipient country is of paramount importance. Coordination of sector aid at country level among financing partners and the respective Governments is part of this approach. Aid to about thirty other countries is concentrated on themes such as environment, good governance, peace building and human rights.
2. Multilateral: (20%)
To a number of international organizations via partnerships and special arrangements. Theme oriented approach and in some cases program support can be envisaged for future cooperation activities. In the case of the financing institutions the Dutch pay attention to the policy aspects as Comprehensive Development frameworks and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. Again, ownership by the recipient Government is considered a basic principle
3. NGO's and Civil Society organizations: (30%)
Funding is provided to a select number of co financing organizations in The Netherlands who in turn implement a vast number of initiatives in the receiving countries through local NGO's and local civil society organizations.
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Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)
Norway's net official development assistance totaled US$ 1.26 billion in 2000. This represented 0.80% of the country's GNP, the fourth largest among OECD-countries.
The Norwegian Parliament ("the Storting") has decreed that the primary goal of Norwegian development policy is combating poverty. All its cooperation is based on the principle of recipient responsibility and respect for developing nations right to self-determination.
Specific areas of support, defined in the Strategy for 2000-2005 period (NORAD Invests in the Future), include following six cross-cutting areas:
- social development
- economic development
- peace, democracy and human rights
- environment and natural resource management
- humanitarian assistance in the event of conflicts and natural disasters
- women and gender equality
Norway's development assistance budget is to be divided into two approximately equal parts. The first is allocated to bilateral projects, mainly arranged with special recipient partners and often in connection with NGO projects. This assistance is executed by NORAD, which is a directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working through the Norwegian embassies.
The other half of the budget funds multilateral efforts under the auspices of the UN and the World Bank. This is under the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Concerning bilateral aid, the Norwegian government wishes to base its selection of partner countries on the extent to which they "pursue a development-oriented policy which respects fundamental human rights and international agreements, thereby laying the foundation for genuine cooperation on development and poverty reduction". Long term bilateral cooperation is limited to 12 programme countries, primarily in Africa, but also including Nicaragua. Norway also has cooperation agreement with a number of other countries, including El Salvador and Guatemala.
Cooperation with PAHO dates back to the mid 1980s as part of the "Bridge for Peace Initiative" in Central America. In 2001, the cooperation included four projects addressing issues of intra-family violence, institutional strengthening of the environmental sector, and HIV/AIDS.
For additional information on NORAD please visit: www.norad.no
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The cooperation for development policy is one of the fundamental components of Portuguese foreign policy and an important sector in the definition of our political and diplomatic identity. The Government of Portugal orients that policy so as to promote improved living conditions in developing countries and to consolidate democracy and the rule of law.
The Government priority in cooperation policy is oriented to Portuguese-speaking African countries as the logical beneficiaries, both bilaterally and multilaterally, of a substantial part of Portuguese public aid for development. The cooperation policy with Portuguese-speaking African has the following areas of priority:
- Promotion and defense of the Portuguese language (support for language teaching; support for broadcasting systems)
- Cooperation in essential fields such as health, education and science
- Institutional cooperation (technical assistance and training to strengthen the rule of law and civilian society, and the efficacy and transparency of administrative schemes) and technical and military cooperation
- Business cooperation (encouraging investment, technical assistance and training)
Portugal attaches particular importance to the institutionalization of multilateral cooperation and consultation structures and within that scope gave priority to the institutionalization of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Peoples.
DAC AID Review of Portugal
Portugal's development co-operation program is characterized by concentration bilaterally on the Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa, reflecting close links to its history, language and culture; and by wide variations of the aid volume from year to year. Those countries are now among the least developed countries.
Portugal's annual aid volume has fluctuated sharply with peaks of 0.36 per cent of GNP in 1992 and 0.35 per cent in 1994 before falling to 0.21 per cent in 1996, a lower level than in 1991 when Portugal rejoined the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The Portuguese administration says it intends to increase its aid volume to 0.36 per cent.
The next largest share of Portuguese aid concerns education, training and health. A large part of the assistance to the education and health sectors has consisted of advanced training carried out in Portugal. More attention has been paid to primary education and basic health in the recipient countries.
Recently, Portugal has emphasized two new areas of development co-operation: first, private sector development, based on economic policy reforms supported by the international institutions and on instruments which encourage the involvement of the Portuguese private sector.
The second area of emphasis is on strengthening the governance systems in the PALOPS, the Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa, focusing particularly on legal systems and the judiciary, but also extending to parliamentary institutions, electoral systems, local governments and constitutional advice.
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Spanish Agency for International Development (AECI)
Spain focuses on the development of the human being. Priority is given to the social sectors, the poorest countries and the most vulnerable strata of the population, with particular emphasis on programmes promoting the peace process and the consolidation of democracy.
The geographic distribution of Spanish aid differs significantly from that of other DAC donors. In particular, Latin America receives a far larger share. This large share is explained by the demands of civil society and parliament, which is based on historical, cultural and linguistic ties and commercial interest.
In Latin America, Spanish aid concentrates on:
- Institutional modernization
- Education and training
- Modernization of production sectors and infrastructure
- Cultural cooperation
Spain's aid program is in a phase of adjustment and reform, involving its legislative foundations, its composition and its management tools.
The reform initiatives are all very relevant to increasing the impact of Spanish aid on poverty alleviation, on social performance, environmental management and on governance.
The composition of Spanish ODA in recent years is characterized by major changes. The Bilateral grants rose from 17% in 1992 to 45% in 2000. This increase has been the result of larger budget resources for AECI projects and programmes, a rapidly growing amount of debt relief and the rise in aid provided by autonomous regions and municipalities within Spain. In 1995/1996 the share of health was four times higher than that in 1991/1992.
For additional information on AECI please visit: www.aeci.es
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Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA)
The primary objective of Swedish development cooperation is to combat poverty and to improve the living conditions of the poorest people in the world. Its point of departure is that the governments of partner countries have the responsibility for reducing poverty and for sustainable development. SIDA's main task is to support the type of growth that leads to a sustainable reduction of poverty. Two thirds of Sweden's support for international development cooperation is channeled via SIDA. The remainder is channeled via the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to multilateral organizations.
Following a directive from the Swedish Government, SIDA has drawn up four action programmes at the strategic level. They are:
- Poverty reduction
- Peace, democracy and human rights
- Sustainable development
- Gender equality
For additional information on SIDA please visit: www.sida.se
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Department for International Development (DIFD)
The primary objective of the British Government is to tackle poverty and social exclusion worldwide as well as at home. Official development assistance consisted of 0,27% of the GNP in 1996/1997. It is expected to rise to 0.3% of the UK's GNP by 2001.
With regard to UK's bilateral aid, UK has special country programmes and regional departments. The countries are divided into the Least Developed Countries (LCD's), countries in the low-income group, countries in the lower middle income group and countries in the upper middle income group. Bilaterally as well as multilaterally, the UK invests largely in emergency and humanitarian needs.
DFID provides long-term humanitarian relief through working with other Governments, NGO's, UN Agencies, the Red Cross and regional organizations.
In collaboration with other donors and recipient country governments, DFID has supported the development of health policies and systems that address the overall architecture of health sectors in poor countries: public and private, formal and informal, health care and public health.
DFID is constantly looking for opportunities to work more productively with the key multilateral agencies working on international health issues, to join forces, to enhance the collective effort and to achieve progress towards the international development goals.
DFID pays special attention to infectious diseases, especially polio, malaria and tuberculosis. Improving the care and delivery of services to poor people with priority diseases is fundamental to work in international health and represent top priority for DFID. DFID prefers to do this working closely together with specialized multilateral organizations, civil societies and the private sector. Reproductive and sexual health is another area of special interest to DFID.
For additional information on DIFD please visit: www.dfid.gov.uk
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United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID supports the people of developing and transitional countries in their efforts to achieve enduring economic and social progress and to participate more fully in resolving the problems of their countries and the world. In 1996, official development assistance consisted of 0,09% of the US GNP.
The United Sates Agency for International Development (USAID) is the independent government agency that provides economic development and humanitarian assistance to advance U.S. economic and political interests overseas. There are six developmental goals to be pursued through bilateral foreign assistance programs: the encouragement of broad-based economic growth and agricultural development; the strengthening of democracy and good governance; the building of human capacity through education and training; the stabilization of the world population and the protection of human health; the protection of the world's environment for long-term sustainability; the providing of humanitarian assistance and the re-establishment of conditions necessary for political and/or economic development.
SAID has defined its major functions and operations in terms of sustainable development; i.e., actions that lead to a lasting increase in the capacity of a society to improve the quality of life of its people at the community, national, regional or global level.
For additional information on USAID please visit: www.usaid.gov
