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Corporate Social Responsibility
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12.07.2007 - 11:00am ET
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Experts Debate "Making Aid Work" for the Developing World at Annual Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development Symposium
(CSRwire) Growing public debate on development cooperation and pressure to
produce measurable results
"Performance-based funding," which is increasingly being accepted,
offers a potential solution for more efficient aid activities
Private sector can be a positive force in promoting effective
solutions for better development cooperation
BASEL - December 7, 2007 - International experts today debated how to
ensure that aid from the industrialized world succeeds in helping the
developing world deal with poverty and disease. The 9th annual symposium
of the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development focused on "making
aid work," including potential cooperative structures such as
performance-based development.
Speakers at the event in the morning discussed different theoretical and
practical perspectives on how to make aid more effective and efficient,
while the afternoon session explored management approaches to bring about
the desired development results. Approximately 400 development agency
staff, government officials, academics, students and representatives of
industry attended the symposium.
Klaus M. Leisinger, President and CEO of the Novartis Foundation for
Sustainable Development, opened the symposium, saying: "Every three
seconds, a person dies from extreme poverty, starvation or AIDS. To solve
the problems that lead to this unacceptable state of affairs remains the
single most important rationale for development assistance. So it is not
the 'yes' or 'no' for development cooperation that is up for debate this
time - it is 'how,' leading to the biggest 'bang for the buck.'"
Richard Manning, chair of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee
(DAC), outlined three keys for more effective aid: predictability,
accountability and cost-effectiveness.
Performance-based funding (PBF), which has gained considerable acceptance
as a potential solution for effective development cooperation, was
discussed in the symposium from the perspectives of both "Northern" (or
donor) countries and "Southern" (or recipient) countries.
"PBF forces the 'North' to acknowledge limitations of the implementing
organizations and to provide assistance for addressing them," said Manfred
Störmer, a consultant in international health financing. On the other
hand, he said, "PBF forces the 'South' to formulate realistic targets and
to address and overcome problems for achieving them. As a result,
performance-based funding provides a basis for a mutually beneficial
partnership."
Vinya Ariyaratne, executive director of The Sarvodaya Movement in Sri
Lanka, supports the PBF approach but also points to some limitations:
"Dynamic organizations like Sarvodaya can be reduced to a position where
they are merely asked to deliver a set of agreed outputs rather than being
agents of social change, the reasons such organizations were founded in the
first place." Although he understands that donors are expected to prove
their money is well-spent by demonstrating positive results, he said it is
quite easy to talk about achieved goals while avoiding the question of
whether these goals also have brought about changes in the quality of
life.
The Foundation's annual symposium is conceived as a platform for critical
reflection and controversial discussions, exploring issues and debating
principles of development from a wide range of perspectives. It attracts a
diverse audience of people active in international aid and development.
Photographs and presentations from the symposium are available on the
website of the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development: www.novartisfoundation.org/symposium.
About the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development
The Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development is a nonprofit
organization whose activities form part of the Corporate Social
Responsibility portfolio of Novartis AG, which finances the Foundation’s
operations. The Foundation’s mission is to support healthcare programs in
developing countries, providing help for self-help. Its core competencies
also include in-depth analysis, consulting and publications in the fields
of corporate responsibility and development policy. By harnessing
synergies between project work, think tank activities and the facilitation
of dialogue, it elaborates innovative strategies for familiar development
problems. In 2006, the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development
invested approximately CHF 10 million in projects, largely in Africa and
Asia.
For more information on the Foundation and on specific projects, please
visit: www.novartisfoundation.org.
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