Development Co-operation Reviews

The Development Assistance Committee's 1999 review of Norway's aid policies and programmes. It finds that Norway’s aid effort ranks second among DAC Members in terms of ODA to GNP ratio. Broad national consensus towards Norway’s development assistance is based on strong support by churches and NGOs and on effective development education. In particular, 40% of the bilateral programme administered by Norway is channelled through Norwegian NGOs. There is a strong poverty focus in Norway’s long-term development assistance, with aid flowing predominantly to poor countries with good policies. Norway adopts a three-pronged approach: help the countries to foster economic growth; contribute to social development programmes; and target aid on vulnerable groups. Norway’s operational approaches and budget allocations for poverty reduction can nevertheless be further strengthened, as part of the overall international effort to reduce half the proportion of poor by the year 2015. Norway’s ambitions to contribute to human rights, democracy and peace, have created new policies as well as pressing challenges at the strategic and organisational level. Furthermore, while Norway has been keen on concentrating its bilateral assistance in twelve priority countries, political and humanitarian priorities have emerged as a second element of Norwegian aid, leading to increased geographic dispersion.