Teacher and student absences have dropped sharply. A similar program is improving education for 50 million children in India, where new census figures show a steep drop in illiteracy. As more nations adopt the conditions for broad-based growth, countries that provide aid have noted the changes and are supporting modest increases in foreign assistance and reductions in trade barriers. After falling for nearly decade, official development aid has begun to recover. The United States is moving to further open its markets to imports from Africa and Latin America.
Rich nations can do more to demonstrate their commitment to the international development goals.
Most high-income countries have endorsed the objective of increasing aid to 0.70 percent of GDP, from the current average level of 0.24 percent. High income states can also offer developing nations a fair proposal on second-generation trade issues, such as protecting intellectual property rights. If developing countries, aid providers and international organizations can work together with greater urgency, hundreds of millions of people may well escape the pain of severe deprivation within our lifetime. The writer, chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank, contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune .