Official Development Assistance (ODA) or aid is the provision of grants or loans (with a grant element of at least 25%) to developing countries and multilateral agencies to promote economic development and welfare in developing countries. Just over ten percent of Canadian aid goes to the international financial institutions - to the World Bank for successive replenishments of the International Development Association (IDA), for debt relief and cancellation and arrears clearance and to multi-donor trust funds and the concessional lending windows at the Regional Developments Banks.

In June 2008, Canada adopted the Official Development Assistance (ODA) Accountability Act. This now legally requires Canadian ODA to contribute to poverty reduction, take into account the perspectives of the poor, and be consistent with international human rights standards. This has implications for the money Finance provides to the World Bank and what CIDA provides to the RDBs.

We work to:

• monitor and press for strong interpretation and implementation of the ODA Accountability Act;
• encourage an explicit human rights-based approach to the implementation of Canadian ODA spending and development policy.

• FAQs
• Glossary of Financial Terms
• Key contacts
• Links

Aid-Related

• Issue Brief: Official Interpretations of the ODA Accountability Act - One Year Later (Sept 2009)
• Official correspondence
• Reports and analysis
• Statements and submissions