Category Archives: Posts

DFID only spent 72% of UK official aid last year. Does that matter?

Posted on November 30, 2018 by

Originally posted on Phil Vernon's blog:
The UK Government released its data on 2017 official development assistance (ODA) spending today. As required by law, the total went up to match 0.7% of the UK’s GNI, reaching £14.1 billion, an…

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Spotlight on the UNDG

Posted on July 21, 2018 by

There are several dozen agencies across the United Nations (UN) system. Most of them have a specialised agencies like the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) or the World Food Programme (WFP). There are some well-known UN Funds and programmes such … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Development, International Development, Millennium Development Goals, Posts, UNDG, UNDP, United Nations Development Group, United Nations Development Programme | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Characteristics of the new foreign aid architecture and ways forward

Posted on December 23, 2017 by

Introduction Countries have developed at various paces, some of them as a result of foreign aid or more officially known as Official Development Assistance ODA. In recent years, there have been many changes to the ODA architecture, including 1) a … Continue reading →

Posted in DFID, Humanitarian Aid, IDA, International Development, International Development Association, International Political Economy, Millennium Development Goals, Posts, SDGs, sustainable development goals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hello new FCO-DFID “development” department

Posted on October 26, 2017 by

Well besides the so-called Conservative-DUP “broken” deal, Theresa May further “joined up” ministers in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for International Development (DFID) with two ministers of state “joint up” or working in both departments. They are … Continue reading →

Posted in Alistair Burt, Boris Johnson, DFID, Official Development Assistance, Posts, Priti Patel, Rory Stewart, Theresa May | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Criticism of UK aid: it’s time for aid advocates to make a choice — Phil Vernon’s blog

Posted on December 21, 2016 by

Recent articles in British newspapers The Times and the Mail question whether the British Government is able to spend over £12 bn per year on overseas development aid. This in a context of large government cuts in other expenditure, while … Continue reading →

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The flaws in the Anti-Corruption Agenda and how to change it

Posted on August 1, 2016 by

The flaws in the Anti-Corruption Agenda and how to change it In May 2016, the UK hosted the Anti-Corruption Summit in London, bring leaders from developed and developing nations as well as practitioners and interest groups. World leaders and academic … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic Thought, Ha-Joon Chang, International Development, Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s right to question aid, but better to focus on effectiveness, rather than the 0.7%

Posted on May 27, 2016 by

Originally posted on Phil Vernon's blog:
A version of this post is on Huffington Post. In the UK, a parliamentary debate can be initiated by popular petition. On 13th June, Parliament will debate the proposition that the government’s approach…

Posted in DFID, International Development, Official Development Assistance, Posts, Poverty Reduction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment