Aid fall for the Third World

Western aid to developing countries has fallen to a 20-year low according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (oecd). In its annual report, the oecd warns that stagnant budgets could trigger a "vicious circle" of inadequate aid for development. There might be a drain on resources for the developing world, as now and then new humanitarian aid agencies mushroom, as had happened in war-torn Rwanda.

The oecd committee points out that the net flow of official development assistance to the developing countries fell to us $55.96 billion in 1993 from us $60.85 billion the previous year, caused by a decline in funds from 17 of its 21 members.