Donors urged to support fragile states to curb instability

An international policy group on Thursday called on donors to allocate funds toward structural change in fragile states to help tackle the root causes of instability and fragility across the world.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Deputy Secretary General Doug Frantz said the world has grown more violent over the last decade, interrupting a long-term trend of increasing peace and stability.

"It is necessary that more development aid be used to tackle the root causes of fragility and instability," Frantz said during the launch of a report in Nairobi.

Frantz said while the number of people living in extreme poverty is falling, the number of extremely poor people living in fragile places is set to increase to 542 million in 2035 from 480 million in 2015.

The report states that Low- and Middle-Income countries bear a disproportionately high share of the burden of political and social armed violence, which often impedes development gains.

"If the challenges faced by these countries are not met, progress on combating climate change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will be stalled and millions of people will remain mired in poverty and conflict," Frantz said.

The report says that while the global economic impact of violence has been estimated at 13.6 trillion U.S. dollars for 2015, or 13.3 percent of GDP, only a tiny amount of development aid is invested in violence reduction outside of conflict situations.

It calls for building of legitimate and inclusive political systems and institutions, strengthening security and access to justice, supporting economic growth and availing basic services.

The report reveals that conflict is one cause of violent deaths, but in 2015 more people died violently in countries not afflicted by conflict.

According to OECD, Central America is the region that suffers the most lethal violence, followed by Southern Africa, the Caribbean and South America.

OECD estimates that more than 1.6 billion people, or 22 percent of the global population, live in fragile areas.

It states that the global violence is at its worst level since the end of the Cold War, with nearly half the world's population living in proximity to or feeling the impact of political violence. Endit