Untie international aid

Over one fifth of all aid is officially tied to the purchase of goods and services in donor countries. Tied aid is unfair and massively reduces aid effectiveness. The OECD estimates that untying aid could generate efficiency gains equivalent to an extra $5 billion in aid flows.

Tied aid favours companies in rich countries at the expense of poor people, and leads to inappropriate and costly projects. Equally, untying aid can ensure more aid reaches poor people, that aid builds local ownership and capacity, and that locally appropriate solutions are supported. When food aid and ‘technical assistance’ are included in the estimates of tied aid, well over half of all aid is currently tied.

ActionAid's campaign
ActionAid has campaigned since 1996 on the case for untying aid. In 2000, we scored a major victory when the UK government agreed to untie all aid, and encourage other donors to follow suit. Our lobbying of the European Union has helped push the European Commission to write a new regulation on aid untying. We are also pushing for progess on untying through the OECD Development Assistance Committee, as well as reviewing the impact of untying on the British aid programme.