Charles MacCormack outlines four core principles which must guide aid reform in Haiti. Achievements of U.S. foreign aid to Haiti have included halving the child mortality rate in less than 2 decades. However, "Haiti has remained impoverished and so it’s clear, we must do much better". This requires increased accountability through transparency, and the empowerment of one U.S. agency to oversee the development in Haiti. MacCormack argues that "USAID should also lead development efforts, so that the fractured efforts of the dozen U.S.

The recent talks held between donor agencies and Guyanese people have highlighted the need for serious increase in communication and mutual responsibility for the use of aid. Donors have recognised the need to ‘reach more deeply into the society they intend to serve’ and adopt principles of transparency around disclosure of information. Hopefully the intentions expressed are genuine. If they are, aid effectiveness will see a turn for the better in Guyana.

This briefing paper looks at trends in oversees development assistance to Haiti from 1989-2008. The study includes annual amount of aid received in the country, a comparison between bilateral and multilateral aid, how it has been spent, and how levels compare with that in other countries. Well worth a read – click here.

Yesterday, Jan 28th, saw the conference on Afghanistan draw support for increased transparency measures.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick tells government in Sierra Leone that enhancing transparency is ‘fundamental’ as they use aid to secure 4.7% growth this year.  Expected to recover from a ‘blip’ last year due to 30% decrease in diamond exports, Finance Minister Samura Kamara says 2010 will see ‘massive improvement’.