Conclusion of the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana

"In 2005, developing countries, donor countries, and heads of bilateral and multilateral development institutions agreed upon a set of development reforms called the Paris Declaration. This week, the world's finance ministers, diplomats and hundreds of development professionals gathered in Accra, Ghana to ratify the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA). The AAA is intended to evaluate the implementation and the challenges of achieving the Paris Declaration, and identify appropriate actions.
 

It is encouraging that the Accra Agenda for Action has moved the aid conversation from a technical conversation about how to make the delivery of aid more efficient, to a political conversation of how to eradicate poverty by making development more effective.
 

Food crises, fuel shortages and armed conflicts are unfortunately the world's current reality. International relief and development agencies who deal with these issues and many more on a daily basis believe that the road to achieving poverty eradication cannot be traveled alone.
 

Therefore, we are pleased that a spirit of cooperation and partnership was demonstrated this week, by the world's finance ministers, and heads of bilateral and multilateral agencies, as they discussed and ratified their political commitment to working together to help the women, children, and families living on less than $1.25 a day.
 

We admit that much more needs to be done by recipient countries, donors, and civil society for us to reach the Millennium Development Goal of eradicating poverty by 2015, and will continue to monitor and advocate on the national and global level for all development actors to honor their commitments made today. However, we are pleased the official document recognizes that for us to achieve our goals, the aid conversation must be given a significant role on the world's stage - from Accra, to the New York United Nations General Assembly in September, to the Doha Financing for Development Conference in November.
 

As aid practitioners on the ground, aid effectiveness is not a bureaucratic issue. It's a personal and practical one, of providing food, education and healthcare to millions of people worldwide. The U.S. international development and relief agencies are committed to realizing the Accra Agenda for Action by continuing to work very diligently with our global partners."
 

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