Targeting technical assistance

One quarter of the aid provided by rich countries - or $20bn a year – funds expensive and often ineffective consultants, research and training instead of going directly to the people who need it most.

Research by ActionAid reveals that rich countries’ ‘technical assistance’ (TA) – consultants, research and training – often promotes the interests of rich countries and inappropriate solutions instead of alleviating poverty.

Spending on western consultancies forms a major part of TA. In the UK, for example, almost half of TA spending goes on consultants and other experts, the vast majority to British companies.

Expatriate consultants typically cost around $200,000 a year - more than one third of this is spent on school fees and child allowances. This spending would not be needed if local consultants were used, plus they bring an invaluable understanding of local culture.

In Cambodia, for example, consultants fees were $17,000 a month while government salaries were only $40. In Ghana, even relatively inexperienced consultants earned per day what government officials earned in a month. In Sierra Leone, according to one former UK-funded consultant, daily take-home pay was the same as the Auditor General’s monthly salary.

photo : ©Warrick Page/Panos Pictures/ActionAid