Aid transparency campaign
launched by int’l groups

A global coalition of civil society organizations from twenty countries recently launched a campaign to press government and other aid donors to exercise more transparency when they give out aid.

The Make Aid Transparent campaign was launched in London on June 9, with civil society leaders from Oxfam International, Transparency International, and eighteen other groups signing a petition asking donors to lift the cloak of secrecy that often shrouds their aid.

“Providing more and better information about aid isn’t hard, and it will help save lives, reduce corruption and waste and deliver lasting positive change in the world’s poorest countries,” the petition reads.

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has already signed on as an endorsing organization.

The petition has also been placed online at makeaidtransparent.org, to allow other groups to sign in. The website includes an animation that demonstrates why aid transparency is important. Please visit the website here.

The groups say that while aid has made a difference in the developing world, “at the moment, no one knows exactly how much money is being spent, where or on what.” They argue that for aid to be really effective, citizens in both donor and recipient countries should be given a full picture of where the money really goes.

“Governments have promised to make their aid more transparent but so far they haven’t done enough,” said Amy Barry, Campaigns Director of Publish What You Fund. “At the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness at the end of the year their promises will be tested. This campaign will demonstrate public demand for aid transparency from citizens in both donor and recipient countries.”

The first petition handover is planned for July, during a meeting of aid donors in Paris hosted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.