ABSTRACT
258 Official development assistance, or aid, is the one global resource capable of being targeted on the eradication of poverty. In 1992, at the Earth Summit in Rio, many heads of state committed themselves and their countries to giving 0.7% of their national income in aid for sustainable development. In 1994, at the World Summit for Social Development, heads of state committed themselves to the goal of eradicating poverty and reaffirmed their commitment to 0.7%. In 1996, all DAC donors signed up to the goals identified in Shaping the 21st Century. The first of these is a reduction, by one half of the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015.
