Ethiopia needs increased donor assistance to come close to MDGs: UN official

Addis Ababa, July 30(ENA)-- Ethiopia vastly needs increased donor assistance to come close to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), says a special adviser to the UN Secretary general heading the Millennium Project.

In an interview with IRIN, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs this week said unless there is a considerable increase in the donors development assistance, the country that struggles at US $100 per capita, will not come close to the goals.

"Right now development assistance is about US $1 billion a year. I think a country like Ethiopia needs probably something in the order of US $5 billion a year to have a real go at things, and for a country of 70 million people that is not an unrealistic amount by any means..." he said.

Prof. Sachs said "Ethiopia is a well-governed development orientated country with a prime minister committed to these MDGs, yet the burdens on this country are vast."

Commenting on the government's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), Prof. Sachs said, the government is on that path but it needs more resources to succeed and strategy to compete on world markets.

He stressed, "The rich countries need to recognize the urgency of vastly increased donor assistance and better rules for international trade, debt management, and international finance to empower the poor countries to achieve more progress towards these goals."