This is not an outlandish expectation. One would expect that under their poverty reduction and strategies, countries should be able to move beyond these historical rates. But it underlines the fact that increased trade for the poorest countries is essential to their success. In reality no amount of HIPC debt reduction or official development assistance can guarantee that we will reach the international development targets and poverty reduction goals. It is clear that we can not achieve systematic and sustained poverty reduction without economic growth.
Economic growth is essential to generate additional resources to redistribute.
Stimulating growth is a complex subject, and ODA can be a useful tool to generate higher growth. However, the needs are so great that no imaginable increase in ODA, however effective would be sufficient to meet the needs. The second reason why trade is vital for development policy is the material and cultural benefits which are enjoyed by open societies that learn from and trade with others. In recent decades, it is those countries which have seized the opportunity offered by more open world markets to increase exports and attract inward investment that have made the greatest strides in reducing poverty. However, there is no doubt that the poorest have been marginalised.