Aid agency

An aid agency is an organisation dedicated to distributing aid. Many professional aid organisations exist, both within government (e.g. AusAID, USAID, DFID, EuropeAid, ECHO), between governments as multilateral donors (e.g. UNDP) and as private voluntary organizations or non-governmental organisations, (e.g. ActionAid, Ducere Foundation, Oxfam, World Vision). The International Committee of the Red Cross is the world’s oldest humanitarian organisation and is unique in being mandated by international treaty to uphold the Geneva Conventions.

Aid can be subdivided into two categories: humanitarian aid (emergency relief efforts, e.g. in response to natural disasters), and development aid (or foreign aid), aimed at helping countries to achieve long-term sustainable economic growth, with the aim of achieving poverty reduction. Some aid agencies carry out both kinds of aid (e.g. EcoCARE Pacific Trust and ADRA), whilst others specialise (e.g. Red Cross, humanitarian aid; War on Want, development aid).

See also

• List of development aid agencies

External links

• Foreign Relations and International Aid resources from University of Colorado–Boulder
• International Aid and Development at DMOZ
• AidData - a web portal for information on development aid, including a database of aid activities financed by donors worldwide
• EuropeAid Cooperation Office
• OECD Development Co-operation Directorate (DAC)
• Overseas Development Institute
• Aid Reform Campaign at Oxfam America
• Foreign Aid at Brookings Institution
• Aid Workers Network
• Aid Harmonization: What Will It Take to Meet the Millennium Development Goals?
• Aid at GlobalIssues.org
• Euforic makes information on Europe's development cooperation more accessible
• The Development Executive Group Resource for staffing, tracking, winning, and implementing development projects.
• How Food Aid Work.
• Aid Guide at OneWorld.net
• NL-Aid.
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• Foreign Aid Projects 1955-2010