UN chief encourages all governments to enhance official development assistance

As the world strives to meet the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday encouraged all governments to enhance official development assistance.

With the world facing the largest crisis of forced displacement since the Second World War, Ban called on "the international community to meet this immense challenge without lessening its commitment to vitally needed official development assistance," said a statement of the secretary-general's spokesman.

Recognizing "the financial demands faced by host communities and partner governments as they seek to support the international response," Ban expressed sincere gratitude to governments and their citizens for their generosity, said the statement.

The UN chief underscored the importance of fully funding both efforts to care for refugees and asylum seekers in host countries as well as long-term development efforts.

"Resources for one area should not come at the expense of another," he said. "Redirecting critical funding away from development aid at this pivotal time could perpetuate challenges that the global community has committed to address."

Ban warned that "reducing development assistance to finance the cost of refugee flows is counter-productive and will cause a vicious circle detrimental to health, education and opportunities for a better life at home for millions of vulnerable people in every corner of the world."

The share of national income devoted to official development assistance (ODA) is a testament of a country's commitment to international development. A long-standing United Nations target is that developed countries should devote 0.7 percent of their gross national income to ODA, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Enditem