Alliance2015 calls on EU to take bold leadership in the implementation of commitments from Accra

Governments and international institutions agreed today on the Accra Agenda for Action, with the aim of making development aid more effective.

“The actions agreed are not guided sufficiently by concrete targets and timelines”, notes Vagn Berthelsen, the President of Alliance2015 and Director of IBIS. "We have talked about conditionality and tied aid for years, and we have argued strongly for firm commitments but did not get them.’ Especially the untying of food aid in the given context of a dramatic increase of food prices, which aggravates the poverty of the poor, is a must. The EU could show political leadership by using the 1 billion Euro of the unspent funds from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget line to alleviate the food price crisis for the most affected."

“A positive step is the broader notion of country ownership, meaning that civil society has an important voice. Their independent role has clearly been acknowledged which is not always to the pleasure of governments – also in the South” remarks Birgit-Dederichs-Bain from the German Alliance member Welthungerhilfe.

The European Union, the largest donor with 60% of overall development aid is taking a lead in Accra and beyond, pushing the issues in AAA further. “A hopeful start could be the agreement on the 3-5 year timeline on the predictability of aid flows as it is now in the AAA,” suggest Stefano Piziali from CESVI, the Italian Alliance member.  

The High Level Forum was accompanied by an unprecedented mobilisation of civil society. “Civil society will have a key role in ensuring progress in the reform agenda, holding governments in the South and North to account. The Accra Agenda will only be an agenda for Action if civil society is able to constantly push for reform” says Vagn Berthelsen.

“The challenge beyond Accra is to implement the commitments from Paris in 2005 and from Accra today,” warns Vagn Berthelsen. “Monitoring of the implementation of the Paris Declaration shows that bold action is needed in order to reach the Paris commitments before 2010. EU must take leadership beyond Accra.”

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Alliance2015, founded in 2000, is a strategic network of currently six European NGOs, engaged in humanitarian and development activities and working together to reach the Millennium Development Goals. It cooperates at the programme level in 81 developing countries and at the policy level in Europe. Members include Concern Worldwide (Ireland), Hivos (Netherlands), Ibis (Denmark), Welthungerhilfe (Germany), CESVI (Italy) and People in Need (Czech Republic).

The new 2015-Watch report covering general budget support, democratic accountability, ownership and civil society engagement can be found on the Alliance2015 website.

On ownership and the need to further engage civil society, please also see the case study-based report Fostering Democratic Ownership 

Contacts in Accra, 2 – 4 September:

Vagn Berthelsen, President Alliance2015 and Secretary-General Ibis (Tel. +233 240 255 448)
Stefano Piziali, CESVI (Tel. +39 335 687 48 54)
Lars Koch, Ibis (Tel. +233 240 255 433)
Birgit Dederichs-Bain, Welthungerhilfe (Tel. +233 240 244 534)

Press contact for general inquiries:

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Alliance2015
c/o Ibis
Noerrebrogade 68B
2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
Tel +45 353 587 88
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