Better Aid
International aid cannot solve all our problems, but it can make a real difference. It can save lives, put children into school, and reduce extreme poverty. But at the moment we don’t have a full picture of how much money is being spent, where, or on what.
At the organization I work for in East Africa, Twaweza, we help people get information to get things done and hold their governments to account. We’ve seen real progress as better informed people ask questions, discuss ideas, and make sure officials do their job.
If information on aid was openly available, citizens would be able to see where and how it is spent, which would help them track the money and demand results. Real transparency means aid money can go even further and also reduces the risk of corruption.
Please join me in signing ONE’s petition now.
We are at a critical moment. Governments are meeting later this month in South Korea to discuss this issue and we have the chance to hold them to account. Public pressure right now can make a huge difference to the future of aid.
Twaweza means “we can make it happen” in Swahili. Together, we sure can!
Rakesh Rajani is Head of Twaweza and a member of ONE’s Africa Policy Advisory Board
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About the Blog
The International ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, with guest contributions from ONE volunteers, members and allies.
The content of each post and each comment represents the views of that author and does not necessarily reflect the views of ONE. ONE does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office, and any post expressing support or opposition for a candidate is not endorsed by ONE.
16/11/2011 at 7:54 pm
Thanks Rakesh for sharing your experience about your organization in East Africa. You are completely right that better aid makes a difference and aid transparency wil help every stakeholder.
We are working in Open Aid Register http://www.openaidregister.org to make better aid transparency at the NGO level. Your organization is also part of the system and you should publish what you do as well as donors publish what they fund. We can help you in doing this. EWB Canada has already done it with us with excellent results and less effort. You could be in HLF4 with your NGO data already in IATI as one of the first ones to do it. Contact us and we will help you! We are not a company, this is a project done through a University program. And we do it for free with the aim of more transparency.
All the best,
Ruth