PARIS - International development aid last year peaked at a record 78.6 billion dollars (60.65 billion euros), but 2006 targets remain a challenge, the OECD said Monday.
Official development assistance to developing countries in 2004, taking into account inflation and the decline in the US dollar, represents a 4.6-percent rise in real terms from 2003, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.
Among the factors contributing to the increase were contributions to international organizations, up 3.7 billion dollars, and aid to Afghanistan and Iraqu, up by a total of at least 1.5 billion, the Paris-based body of rich nations said.
Official development assistance in 2003 climbed 4.3 percent in real terms from the figure for 2002.
The cost for members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), in terms of gross national income, remained flat in 2004, at 0.25 percent of GNI, the same as in 2003, but up from 0.23 percent in 2002 and 0.22 percent in 2001.
The United States remained the biggest donor by volume, followed by Japan, France, Britain and Germany, which dropped from fourth place.
The US gave 19 billion dollars, a rise of 14.1 percent in real terms, most of it in a 1.8-billion-dollar contribution to the World Bank's International Development Association.
Japan's ODA fell by 4.8 percent to 8.9 billion dollars, while the 15 DAC countries that are members of the European Union increased their combined ODA by 2.9 percent to 42.9 billion.
The EU members' contribution represented 0.36 percent of their combined GNI, up from 0.35 percent in 2003 and broadly on track for the EU target of 0.39 percent by 2006, the OECD.
But five EU members still need to make major improvements in their ODA to meet their minimum country target of 0.33 percent.
04/11/2005 11:32 GMT