Dutch Aid Policy
More than a billion people worldwide are living on less than a dollar a day. About a billion people have no access to safe drinking water. One in six people are illiterate. Forty million people are infected with HIV/AIDS, 95% of whom live in developing countries.

These figures show that greater efforts are still needed to combat poverty. Development cooperation is a global task. The international community has made a commitment to halve global poverty by 2015. To achieve this, in 2000, it formulated eight ambitious Millennium Development Goals.

The Minister for Development Cooperation is fully committed to the Millennium Development Goals and strives to improve the quality and effectiveness of the Dutch contribution. To this end, the minister promotes partnerships with civil society organisations, enterprises and knowledge institutes in rich and poor countries alike. Together, we can achieve more.

There is strong public support in the Netherlands for development cooperation. Many people contribute in some way, whether as volunteers or as donors. We take pride in this. Development cooperation is not just a matter for the government, but for society as a whole. Everybody is responsible for ensuring that global poverty is halved by 2015. We have mutual responsibilities and mutual interests, both within the Netherlands and as part of the global community.

In recent decades we have learned that simply handing out money is not enough. Other factors come into play, such as political will, global market opportunities and peace and security. The Dutch government plans to exert influence in these areas by applying political instruments, by widening the scope of policy in the fight against poverty (policy coherence) and by using to advantage its international pioneering role.

Every year, the Netherlands allocates 0.8% of its GNP to poverty reduction (of which 0.1% goes to the environment). We are therefore one of the few countries that fulfils internationally agreed standards. Half of that money goes to Africa, the most poverty-stricken region. Through a regional approach, the Netherlands contributes towards conflict resolution in the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa. For peace and security are crucial to development.

The Netherlands supports good governance initiatives in 36 partner countries, with a focus on human rights and a good business climate that boosts employment and revenue. This also underlies Dutch efforts in the field of education, HIV/AIDS, water, the environment and reproductive health. The Netherlands concentrates on these themes because they all contribute towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in 2015.

Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken
Bezuidenhoutseweg 67
Postbus 20061
2500 EB Den Haag
Tel.: 070-3 486 486
Fax: 070-3 484 848
Internet: www.minbuza.nl

 

For more information visit the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs website