aid

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Financial or other assistance given or lent, on favourable terms, by richer, usually industrialized, countries to war-damaged or developing states. It may be given for political, commercial, or humanitarian reasons, or a combination of all three. A distinction may be made between short-term aid (usually food and medicine), which is given to relieve conditions in emergencies such as famine, and long-term aid, or development aid, which is intended to promote economic activity and improve the quality of life – for example, by funding irrigation, education, and communications programmes.

In 1970, all industrialized United Nations (UN) member countries committed to giving at least 0.7% of their gross national product (GNP). However, by 2000 only five had reached this target: Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Luxembourg; the actual average among the industrial countries in the same year was around 0.32%. The four largest donors to poor countries in 2000 were Japan, which spent $13 billion on official development assistance, the USA ($9.6 billion), Germany ($5 billion), and the UK ($4.5 billion/£2.94 billion). Each country spends more than half its contribution on direct bilateral (by agreement with another country) assistance to countries with which they have historical or military links, hope to encourage trade, or regard as strategically important – Russia or Indonesia, for example. The rest goes to international organizations such as UN and World Bank agencies, which distribute aid multilaterally. The World Bank is the largest dispenser of aid.

The four-feathered wing, the Sayap, symbolizes the protection of justice, tranquillity, prosperity, and peace. The scroll reads ‘Brunei City of Peace’. The flag and umbrella are based on ancient royal regalia while the mast represents the state. Effective date: c. 1984. >>