General Information on the Third High Level Forum

What is the Third High Level Forum in Accra expected to achieve?

The Third High Level Forum aims at taking stock of progress to date in implementing the Paris Declaration commitments, identifying the remaining bottlenecks and challenges and determining the key actions donors and partner countries need to take to accelerate progress in making aid more effective. Nine roundtables will give participants an opportunity to discuss in detail around the five pillars of the Paris Declaration and other cross-cutting themes and emerging issues (civil society and aid effectiveness, aid effectiveness issues in fragile states, sector experiences in implementing aid effective actions, and the implications of the changing aid architecture for aid effectiveness and changes in the aid architecture). The Forum also presents the opportunity to deepen the current aid effectiveness agenda through the establishment of the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA).

What is the Paris Declaration?

In Paris in 2005, over 100 partner and donor countries and international organizations and civil society organizations came together at the Second High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness which took place in Paris in 2005, and committed to reforming aid delivery and management to achieve greater effectiveness and results. They agreed on a Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness that includes 56 Partnership Commitments to strengthen ownership, alignment, harmonization, managing for results, and mutual accountability. These principles and commitments came as a result of many years of empirical research, which have provided evidence that applying them could resolve problems in the way aid has previously been delivered. Implementing the PD may ultimately be the key to greater aid effectiveness which in turn will translate into greater development results on the ground, including poverty reduction and progress towards the MDGs.