Activity 7:    Read this short piece from the United Nations Development Programme, which looks at the amount of money each UN country gives in aid to poor countries.

The cost of stopping preventable deaths from hunger, malnutrition, childbirth, malaria, TB and AIDs is about $195 billion a year, according to the United Nations. Twenty-two developed countries below have pledged to work towards each giving 0.7% (a little less than 1%) of their national income in international aid, which would raise the $195 billion needed.

2009 International Aid Donated (Official Development Assistance)
COUNTRY	For each $100 earned in the country, how much is donated in aid	Aid as % of income	How close the country is to reaching the 0.7% goal
Sweden	112 cents	1.12	Already reached goal
Norway	106 cents	1.06	Already reached goal
Luxembourg	101 cents	1.01	Already reached goal
Denmark	88 cents	0.88	Already reached goal
Netherlands	82 cents	0.82	Already reached goal
Belgium	55 cents	0.55	Scheduled to reach in 2010
Finland	54 cents	0.54	Scheduled to reach in 2015
Ireland	54 cents	0.54	Scheduled to reach in 2012
United Kingdom	52 cents	0.52	Scheduled to reach in 2013
Switzerland	47 cents	0.47	No schedule yet
France	46 cents	0.46	Scheduled to reach in 2012
Spain	46 cents	0.46	Scheduled to reach in 2012
Germany	35 cents	0.35	Scheduled to reach in 2014
Canada	30 cents	0.30	No schedule yet
Austria	30 cents	0.30	Scheduled to reach in 2015
Australia	29 cents	0.29	No schedule yet
New Zealand	29 cents	0.29	No schedule yet
Portugal	23 cents	0.23	Scheduled to reach in 2015
United States	20 cents	0.20	No schedule yet
Greece	19 cents	0.19	Scheduled to reach in 2015
Japan	18 cents	0.18	No schedule yet
Italy	16 cents	0.16	Scheduled to reach in 2015

Source: OECD. The figures for 2010 are due out in April 2011.

Why the 0.7% Agreement?

The 0.7% figure may sound complicated, but it is actually quite simple. You take the total income earned by all the people in the country and then the government gives 0.7% (seven tenths of one percent) of that as aid. Or to look at it another way: for every $100 earned in the country, the country gives 70 cents in aid.  If all 22 developed countries give 0.7%, the UN can raise the $195 billion needed to stop preventable deaths in poor countries.

How are the countries doing?

As the chart above shows, five countries have already met the goal to give 0.7% of their income in international aid: Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
In 2002 and 2003, five other countries set up a schedule to give 0.7%: Belgium, Ireland, Finland, France, and Spain.
In July 2004, the United Kingdom set up a schedule to give 0.7%.
In April 2005, Germany set up a schedule to give 0.7%.
In May 2005, Austria, Greece, Italy, and Portugal set up a schedule to give 0.7%.

The remaining six countries

Only six countries have not yet set up a schedule to give 0.7%. These are Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United States. To raise the $195 billion a year, these six will need to reach the goal.  These six countries are all democracies. All that is necessary for them to reach the 0.7% goal is for enough of their citizens to show their support.

Source: UN Millennium Project, United Nations Development Program (UNDP),

a)    How much would it cost per year to stop preventable deaths in poor countries? 

b)    How much do each of the 22 developed countries need to give to reach that figure?

c)     How many countries have pledged to give 0.7%, and how many are actually doing so?

d)    Which countries have still not signed up?

e)    What do you think about what you have just read?