The poverty of less developed countries is seen as a major global challenge and it is therefore interesting to look at Malta's role in international development. What are Malta's development priorities? How is Malta helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)?

As a new member of the European Union, Malta is required to have a formal development policy and it has also committed to reach a level of 0.17% ODA (Official Development Assistance)/GNI (Gross National Income) by 2010 and to increase its ODA/GNI ratio to 0.33% by 2015. Malta is also a signatory of the UN Millennium Declaration where it promised to work towards achieving the MDGs. Have we met these obligations?

Malta's Overseas Development Policy document is not yet published, though a draft discussion paper was published last year. In 2003, Malta had an ODA expenditure of 0.12% of GNI that rose to 0.18% in 2004 and 2005. However, according to the European Commission's April 2007 figures, Malta spent €7 million or 0.15% of GNI on ODA in 2006. This has meant a relative decrease in its ODA when compared to 2004 and 2005.

Malta wrote off Lm2.8 million in debt owed by Iraq in 2004, and this money was included as part of the Maltese ODA for 2003-2005. Moreover, Malta includes the money spent on refugees in its ODA calculation, as well as including the money spent on educating foreign students on scholarships.

Civil society organisations argue that ODA should be money spent in the developing countries on real projects, and that debt cancellation, refugee assistance and scholarships are not true ODA. Nearly all countries, however. include these expenditures in their ODA calculation and it is true that these expenditures do help the development of the benefiting countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Overseas Development Policy discussion paper acknowledges that good governance and human rights are at the heart of development aid and poverty issues, and that ODA alone will not solve the poverty of developing countries. Foreign Direct Investment and remittances from migrant workers are much greater sources of income for developing countries than ODA, and it is right that Malta supports countries in these ways.

Unfortunately, development aid which is given by the private sector is not reflected within the ODA figures. In Malta, many NGOs work to help less developed countries, and one might find that the money that Maltese donate through the private sector is actually much more than that given by the government.

The World Mission Sunday church collections totalled €906,377.74 in 2006 for distribution in developing countries. The Missionary Society of St Paul (MSSP) gave Lm310,992 (€724,611.36) to the missions in 2006. We must not forget the money that migrant workers send back in remittances to developing countries. This money goes directly to the people in developing countries and it is a great area of private sector development aid from Malta.

Adding to these the many Maltese who give money to the Missions through child sponsorship schemes, and bearing in mind the work of several Maltese NGOs working in developing countries, as well as the hundreds of Maltese missionaries and volunteers in developing countries, it is clear that the private sector could easily match the €7 million that the government currently gives in ODA.

These NGOs also deal directly with the poor and hence tackle the MDGs. When they give shelter, food, clothing and money, they are helping to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, as well as to improve health conditions. The Missions are very active in education in developing countries, and many others provide health services and supplies.

Therefore, even if 84 per cent of the Maltese do not seem to know what the MDGs are, they are in practice contributing somewhat to them.

It may actually be better for Malta to give much of its development aid through private channels, as this may be more efficient since government development aid is, generally speaking, overly bureaucratic and inefficient. Furthermore, it is often tied to other political issues and tends to be unpredictable due to frequent shifts in politics and governments.

Private aid, on the other hand, is much less bureaucratic. It is also done voluntarily, in a focused manner and generally placing no political conditions on such aid. It is much more hands-on, at grassroots level and hence more effective. Finally, it is often longer lasting, as NGOs and the private sector are not as prone to changes as experienced by governing parties in developed nations.

Having said this, improvements vis-à-vis Malta's overseas development activities are still highly called for - particularly if Malta, as an EU member, had to ensure that it lives up to its commitment to the MDGs.

Increased political will and public funds need to be structured and channelled towards the MDGs and overseas development aims. The government's ODA is at present made up largely of debt cancellation, refugee and scholarship costs. Given our limited resources, the Maltese government will perhaps be more effective, especially in the long run, if it were to engage increasingly in on-the-ground and focused development projects within a pre-determined niche area of developing countries.

Mark Rizzo, B.Sc. Economics and International Development (Bath), is development officer at SOS Malta, which is organising a debate on the MDGs and development co-operation at the House of Representatives on Friday. The debate forms part of a project financed by the European Commission and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme. For more information, visit www.sosmalta.org

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