Tackling rural poverty, together

The Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF 3) will be hosted in Accra by the Government of Ghana on 2-4 September 2008. The HLF 3 builds on several previous high level international meetings, most notably the 2003 Rome HLF which highlighted the issue of harmonisation and alignment, and the 2005 Paris HLF which culminated with the endorsement of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness by over 100 signatories from partner governments, bilateral and multilateral donor agencies, regional development banks, and international agencies.

The Paris Declaration is an expression of the general consensus amongst the international community on the direction for reform on aid delivery and management and for improved effectiveness and results. Grounded on the five mutually reinforcing principles of ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability, the Paris Declaration enshrines 56 partnership commitments to improve the quality of aid. It lays down 12 indicators to provide a measurable and evidence-based way to track progress against aid effectiveness objectives and sets targets for 11 of the indicators for the year 2010.

Objectives of the HLF 3

The primary intention of the HLF 3 is to take stock and review the progress made in implementing the Paris Declaration, also broaden and deepen the dialogue on aid effectiveness by giving ample space and voice to partner countries and newer actors (such as Civil Society Organsations and emerging donors). It is also a forward-looking event which will identify the action needed and bottlenecks to overcome in order to make progress in improving aid effectiveness for 2010 and beyond.

The HLF 3 is organised as a three-tier structure:

• The Marketplace, which will provide an opportunity for a wide range of actors to showcase good and innovative practices and lessons from promoting aid effectiveness;
• Roundtable meetings, which will provide an opportunity for in-depth discussion on selected key issues to facilitate and support decision taking and policy endorsement on aid effectiveness; and
• Ministerial-Level Meeting, which is expected to conclude the HLF 3 with an endorsement of a ministerial statement based on high-level discussions and negotiation around key issues.

Led by CIDA, the Platform supports a process that enables CSOs in the area of agriculture and rural development to feed into the Advisory Group on Civil Society and Aid Effectiveness (AG) International Forum in February 2008.  The AG is a body created by the Working Party on Aid Effectiveness of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD and the International Forum will feed into the HLF 3.