Eveline Herfkens of the UN Millennium Campaign presented the new Aid Effectiveness Brochure, produced by the UN Millennium Campaign and OECD, at the Portuguese Parliament. Eveline was accompanied by Portugal’s Undersecretary of State for Cooperation and Development, João Cravinho, and representatives of the Parliament’s Commission for Foreign Affairs.

Eveline stressed that although overall levels of Portuguese ODA have been decreasing, its effectiveness is better than average: 65% is “programmable” — that is, helpful. In addition, Portuguese ODA is focused on a small set of countries, mostly poor, like Mozambique and Guinea Bissau. “All the more reason to increase Portuguese ODA – as it gives more ‘bang for its buck’ than the ODA of most of your neighbors”, she added.

Eveline concluded with a remark on trade issues: “the more aid levels are stagnating, the more important it is for us to help poor countries trade their way out poverty – we must break down the walls we have built in the global trading system, which prevent products made by poor people in poor countries from reaching our rich consumer markets”.