Development Cooperation Handbook/Who provides aid

Who provides aid




 * Bilateral Aid is given by the government of one country directly to another. Many dedicated governmental aid agencies dispense bilateral aid, for example Europeaid, USAID, DFID, JICA, etc.
 * Multilateral aid is given from the government of a country to an international agency, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, or the European Development Fund. These organizations are usually governed by the contributing countries. Donations from private individuals and for-profit companies are another significant type of aid. Many immigrants move to areas of increased economic opportunity, and send money to friends and family members who still live in the countries they left. These payments are known as remittances and constitute a significant portion of international monetary transfers.  Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a major role in distributing aid. Many non-profit charitable organizations solicit donations from the public to support their work; charitable foundations often oversee an endowment which they invest and use the proceeds to support aid organizations and other causes. Aid organizations may provide both humanitarian and development aid, or specialize in one or the other. SOme  NGOs have an affiliation with a religious denomination.  Many NGOs conduct their own international operations - distributing food and water, building pipelines and homes, teaching, providing health care, lending money, etc. Some government aid agencies also conduct direct operations, but there are also many contracts with or grants to NGOs who actually provide the desired aid.  Scholarships to foreign students, whether from a government or a private school or university, might also be considered a type of development aid.
 * Private aid Development charities make up a vast web of non-governmental organizations, religious ministries, foundations, business donations and college scholarships devoted to development aid. (see also ⇒   Individuals as development cooperation actors)

Testimonials
''We collected the opinions of the development cooperation actors and and divided in 10 main issues where we compared the aptitudes from different cultures and nations. In this first issue we collected the answers we received to questions about the role and commitment of National Governments and International Organizations to the acchievement of the MDGs. The work is in progress and you are welcome to contribute sharing with us other relevant testimonials.''

Catherine Ray - Spokesperson for EuropeAid
EuropeAid Development priorities and methodologies - How the programmes are designed and how the projects are financed The European Union, composed of the Member States and the European Commission, is the world's biggest aid donor. The commission's EuropeAid co-operation office manages EU external aid programmes and ensures that development assistance is delivered worldwide.

EuropeAid's main mission is to implement the commission's external aid instruments, both those funded by the Union's budget and the European Development Fund. EuropeAid works in collaboration with its various partners: Civil society, international organisations and governments of EU Member States, building synergies and subsidairites, with the aim to make external aid more participated and effective.

EU development assistance is distributed through multi-annual programmes which are coordinated by the European Commission's Directorate General for Development (for African, Caribbean and Pacific countries) and the Directorate General External Relations for the rest of the world. When formulating and managing these programmes, the Commission consults the authorities in partner countries. This results in an agreed country and regional strategy paper, which includes a multi-annual national indicative programme.

EuropeAid Development priorities and methodologies - How programmes are designed and how projects are financed.



We live in an integrated world. The development of our neighbors and partners is a determinant of our development.

Aid is an investment, not charity.



Danièle Smadja - EU Ambassador to India.
What is your opinion on aid coming from an other country and an other culture?

There has been a lot of discussions over the last 5-7 decades about aid.

The most important element is to do what the government of the country we are engaged in wants to do and has decided to do. We cannot impose policies, we have to support the national policies of the country and respect the obligations of the donor country. This doesn't mean that whatever they do we sign the cheque.

Every country has to take charge of the development of their country. The effectiveness of aid then comes from the capacity of the donor country to contribute to the national policies and strategies and to make sure that whatever we are contributing to has a chance of success. Then only we can bring an added value by filling the financial gap (even if on a small scale), bring expertise, experience and policies we use in Europe.

You are with the WHAT and I'm with the HOW... and until you don't know WHAT there is no way I can help you on HOW to do it.

Dilip Kumar


Taking or not taking funds from foreign donors has always provoked debates and discussions among social workers like us. Our team, for instance, finally decided that we would take money only if we could put it to good use and if we could utilise it to achieve our vision and mission. The foreign funds receive really help us in making the social and economic changes we had always dreamed about. In fact, our efforts to bring positive and lasting changes among communities in 26 villages of our state were successful only because of the donor funds we received for contributing to the achievement of the MDGs.

Nirj Deva - Vice President Development Committee EU Parliament


We need to explain to the taxpayer, (because after all the donor is the taxpayer) that we are not only trying to be good people, charitable.

Actually this is not charity: it is in our interest, it is in our interest of every single citizen of Europe, and of European Nations, to help people in our neighborhood to be better off, less poor, less ill because we live in an interdependent world.

Our purpose is not to give a handout, but to give a hand up.

And that should be the rationale of our development policy.

Stefano De Santis


Conversation with Francesco Brancatella at the EU Parliament. Explaining the reasons why EU is sponsoring International Cooperation for Development.

Silvia Costa