New funding mechanisms needed in post-2015 development framework, officials say

Funding for the post-2015 development framework must expand to include a diversity of funding mechanisms beyond Official Development Assistance (ODA), a panel of experts at InterAction's 2013 Forum said.

USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg said new ways to fund development are already easing the burden on government assistance, in a talk Monday on the post-2015 agenda - the development framework replacing the current Millennium Developments Goals (MDGs). Money raised from voluntary giving, global remittances, private sector investment and domestic resource mobilization is making it more important to develop partnerships between multiple actors, he said.

“We have to look at partnerships with the NGO community, private sector and international institutions,” Steinberg told Forum attendees.

Global remittances to developing countries alone were estimated to have topped $400 billion last year.

One of the main differences between the post-2015 discussions and the MDGs is the shift in economic climate.

Figures from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) show a 4 percent drop in ODA levels in 2012 from member countries. The decline in 2012 follows a 2 percent decrease the year before, the first time aid levels have dropped in two consecutive years for OECD member states.

The role of ODA in development funding has steadily scaled back over time. According to the U.S. Mission to the UN, ODA accounts for only 13 percent of all financial flows to developing countries today, compared to 70 percent in the 1960s.

The panel also addressed the idea of applying development targets post-2015 across every country - a concept known as "universality."

Jean-Michel Severino, Chief Executive Officer of Investisseurs & Partenaires and a member of the United Nations High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, questioned the political feasibility of achieving consensus on this issue. The development community must not lose sight of the bigger challenge of extreme poverty alleviation, he said.

The other panelists at the plenary were Lysa John, the head of outreach for the United Nations High-Level Panel on the post-2015 agenda, and Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children.

Submitted by Ellis Tsang