The world's wealthiest governments provided less aid last year and those countries needing most help got a smaller share of available funds, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Wednesday.
Total aid from the thirty members of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee reached $153 billion in 2018, on a new "grant-equivalent" basis that takes into account the discounted value of funds promised for a future date.
Using the traditional cash-flow basis to measure grants and loans, aid stood at $149.3 billion, down 2.7 percent from 2017.
The OECD, which promotes free-market economics, said the decline mainly reflected a drop in aid to help countries host refugees.
"This picture of stagnating public aid is particularly worrying as it follows data showing that private development flows are also declining," Angel Gurria, OECD secretary general, said in a statement.
Aid to the least-developed countries was down 3.0 percent last year, with money for Africa down 4.0 percent. Humanitarian aid overall dropped 8.0 percent.
"Less ODA is going to least-developed and African countries, where it is most needed," said Susanna Moorehead, head of the OECD's development committee.
She also called on donor countries to offer more grants or low-interest loans, as opposed to traditional market-rate loans.
Overall, 2018 aid represented 0.31 percent of the combined gross national incomes for the 30 OECD donor countries, less than half their target of 0.7 percent.
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