Dhaka denied promised MDG aid

Bangladesh has not received the promised aid from donors, despite making progress in several fields, a recent report on achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has said. The report – ‘Bangladesh’s progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goal 2013’ – was launched in Dhaka on Sunday. The report says: ‘Bangladesh needs 78.2 billion US dollar to achieve all MDG targets. For attaining a higher GDP rate, $3b is needed as foreign aid. But over the past 13 years, Bangladesh has got, on an average, $1.68b annually. This is almost half the $3b needed for higher growth. ‘This figure shows that development partners must be more forthcoming in helping Bangladesh achieve its MDG targets. Economic Relations Department Secretary Mejbah Uddin said the donors had promised 0.7 per cent of their Gross National Income (GNI) at the time the MDG targets were finalised in 2000. But the data of the past few years reveal that they have contributed merely 0.2pc. State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan said, over the past 13 years, the country had received, on an average, $1.7b as foreign aid, a sum that he said was just not enough to achieve the MDGs. ‘Bangladesh’s own resource mobilisation is playing the main role in achieving those goals,’ the experts claimed, according to bdnews24.com.