TRENDS IN OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND POSSIBILITIES OF ALTERNATIVE FINANCING MECHANISMS

The study analyses trends in Official Development Assistance (ODA) to developing countries, mainly Africa, and possibilities of new financing instruments. Economies of most developing countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa, are characterised by low investment flows, huge import bills and lower exports. Subsequently, development assistance is the major source of external finance and has taken the form of budget support, humanitarian and development finance. However, the noted fall in ODA in 2005, 2009 and 2012 might adversely impact directly on the attainment of millennium development goals in 2015. This negative trend in ODA is a result of a combination of factors such as economic constraints in the donor countries (for example, the debt crisis) and/or a new shift in financing mechanisms to developing countries