Policy Submission on Aid Policy for the UN International Meeting on Small Island Developing States

This policy submission by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the challenges of aid delivery to Small Island Developing States (SIDS). It argues that while per capita aid is often higher for SIDS than for mainland developing countries, overall aid levels declined by over 50 percent between 1994 and 2004. The document proposes eight reforms to make aid more effective, including untying aid from donor procurement, harmonising policies across donors, and replacing GDP-per-capita assessments with vulnerability indices.

• Aid levels for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have seen a significant decline, falling by more than 50 percent between 1994 and 2004, despite the initial interest generated by the 1994 Barbados Meeting.
• Per capita aid flows to SIDS are generally higher than those to mainland developing countries with similar needs, partly due to the high costs of managing programs across isolated island states. Between 1995 and 1999, per capita aid to the Pacific was $220 and to the Caribbean was $34, which exceeded figures for Sub Saharan Africa ($22), Latin America ($10), and India ($2).
• Extreme aid dependency exists in some states, such as Tuvalu, Tokelau, and Niue, where aid equals or exceeds Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This dependency can undermine government legitimacy, encourage corruption, and leave policies vulnerable to the political whims of donors.
• The practice of 'tied' aid, which requires recipients to purchase goods and services from the donor country, is described as inherently inefficient and reduces the monetary value of the aid to the recipient by approximately 25 percent.
• The author recommends that International Financial Institutions move away from ranking development needs by GDP per capita, as this discriminates against SIDS. Instead, a 'vulnerability index' should be used to assess a state's ability to recover from economic and environmental shocks.

APA

Brown, O. (2005). Policy Submission on Aid Policy for the UN International Meeting on Small Island Developing States. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_sub_aid_policy_2005.pdf

Chicago

Brown, Oli. Policy Submission on Aid Policy for the UN International Meeting on Small Island Developing States. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2005. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_sub_aid_policy_2005.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brown |first1=Oli |title=Policy Submission on Aid Policy for the UN International Meeting on Small Island Developing States |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=January 2005 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_sub_aid_policy_2005.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brown2005policy, author = {Brown, Oli}, title = {{Policy Submission on Aid Policy for the UN International Meeting on Small Island Developing States}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2005}, month = jan, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/security_sub_aid_policy_2005.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }