Official Development Assistance (ODA)
ODA are resource
flows provided by bilateral sources and multilateral institutions with the
objective of promoting the economic development and welfare of the recipient
country. Behind this altruistic
intention, however, ODA has been an instrument of foreign policy of more
developed countries to advance their political and commercial interests.
ODA,
in contrast with other foreign flows, is mainly concessional.
Concessionality refers to the degree of grant element constituting
the assistance which is defined as the difference between the face value of
a financial loan commitment and the discounted present value of the service
payments to be made by the borrower during the lifetime of the loan.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
defines ODA as flows with a grant element of at least 25 percent at a ten
percent discount rate.
ODA
may either take the form of soft loans or grants.
Soft loans have interest rates, which may range from zero to seven
percent, maturity periods ranging from ten to fifty years and grace periods
of five to ten years. Apparently,
they have better terms than commercial loans.
The major sources of ODA loans to the Philippines are the Asian
Development Bank and Japan.
ODA
grants, on the other hand, have no repayment obligation and are mainly
provided in the form of experts, consultancy services, commodities and
trainings. Among the major
sources of ODA grants are the US, Japan, Germany, European Union, the UN
agencies, Canada and Australia.
-
Directory of ODA Institutions (as
of July 2005)
- ODA Terms and Conditions (as of July 2005)
- ODA Facilities for LGUs (as of July
2005)
- ODA Facilities for NGOs (as of July
2005)
