Investments to end poverty 2018

Executive summary

While poverty halved during the MDGs, many people have made little or no progress but there is a real opportunity to get back on track.

Chapter Two

Strengthening the critical role of aid

The relevance and importance of aid is as great as ever. Official development assistance (ODA) is unique in being able to target poverty directly. But more ODA needs to be…

• Key messages
• In a rapidly changing development finance landscape, the unique value of ODA is as important as ever
• ODA has increased, but there is real scope to raise more
• The share of ODA going directly to countries is falling, and rising volumes are not being transferred from donor countries
• ODA that is allocated to countries is not benefiting the poorest populations proportionately to their needs
• Trends in ODA modalities show a significant shift towards loans and ODA resulting in no transfers
• Significant volumes of ODA are being dispersed by a wide range of government departments and channelled outside countries' domestic government and civil society institutions
• ODA is not consistently targeting the sectors most critical to leaving no one behind
• Development cooperation from other government providers has seen significant increases in recent years

Chapter Four

Moving from data to impact - transparency and data use

Better availability, accessibility and transparency of data is needed for decision-making and accountability at all stages of the development process.

• Key messages
• Transparency and data use are critical for sustainable development
• There has been considerable progress in transparency but levels are still not satisfactory and new needs are emerging
• Improving data use is a fundamental next step to better develop outcomes