Italy: Italian ngos: “More funds for developing countries”

Italian ngos ask the national government more efforts in helping developing countries. On may 12th, after the results of Concord?s report (Aid Watch) on the European aid to these countries, the association of italian ngos appeals to the italian premier Romano Prodi to increase the national Pil?s contribution to development aids.

According to the Aid Watch report, in 2006 European nations devolved only 0, 33 % of Gdp (Gross domestic product) to help developing countries and almost 30 % of that is the so called ?puffed aid?: namely it comes from erasing debts or hosting refugies and foreign students. And Italy is a tail ender in this field.

?Our 160 ngos wrote to the Italian premier Romano Prodi, the Foreign Affairs minister Massimo D?Alema and to the International cooperation minister Patrizia Sentinelli – says Sergio Marelli, the president of Italian ngos? association – to ask them an official efford?. ?The report has a bitter title ?Spare yourselves applauses? – explains -. We can not be happy of the European aid to developing countries, but for Italy the situation is even worse, it is shameful. The real help is under the 0, 11 of Gdp, 41% less than in the 2005. Before the financial G7 and the G8 in Germany we ask again to Mr Prodi to meet commitments that he had taken in front of the international institutions?.

In particular, Italian ngos ask that in 2008 the resouces destined to developing countries increase. They also ask to define and comunicate a schedule for this operation and to make more trasparent public balance of the funds destined to international cooperation and to stop the practice ?aid binding?.

For info:

• Concord