Aid, in the case of Bangladesh, has put an end to the possibility for sustained economic growth by driving local producers, particularly farmers, out of business. Instead of providing assistance, aid cotributes to the rise of corruption. As a result, in Bangladesh, despite receiving almost 20 billion US dollars in aid since its independence in 1971, the country remains one of the poorest and most corrupt nations of the world.

The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness may have the effect of circumscribing national sovereignty and country autonomy over development policies contrary to its stated principles of country ownership and mutual accountability, research has shown.

Aid effectiveness was the main subject for discussion in the OECD this week in Paris. Representatives from developing country governments, donors and CSOs converged in Paris to discuss the recently released Accra Agenda for Action – effectively a draft Communiqué for the Accra High Level Forum in September. CSOs are very concerned that donors are dragging their feet in current negotiations, given the very weak commitments being proposed.