In 2000 the in­ter­na­tional com­mu­ni­ty agreed binding targets for sus­tain­able de­vel­op­ment in the form of the Millennium De­vel­op­ment Goals (MDG). This triggered debate on how the measures needed to achieve the goals would be funded. In 2002 the de­vel­op­ing and industrialised coun­tries adopted the Monterrey Consensus, in which they agreed to increase public financing of de­vel­op­ment co­op­er­a­tion; this agreement was reaffirmed in the Doha Declaration of December 2008. Since then, how­ever, the chal­lenges faced by de­vel­op­ment financing have mounted as a result of the global financial and economic crisis. more - Background: Financing development

High levels of debt are like a trap from which a coun­try can­not free itself of its own accord. If the burden of debt is so large that even with above-average eco­nom­ic growth the coun­try is barely able to meet its interest and redemption pay­ments, then there is no money left for urgently needed investment in basic services and infrastructure. Debt relief is the only way out of this trap. The aim is to help the coun­tries concerned reduce their burden of debt to an economically viable level so that a new start for the economy becomes possible. more - Debt relief: Debt hinders development

Since the UN conferences in Monterrey (2002) and Doha (2008) there has been much discussion of innovative de­vel­op­ment financing in­stru­ments. Such in­no­va­tive financing mechanisms fall into three categories: generating additional public funds, deploying public funds as a lever or catalyst for private capital, and using funding more efficiently. more - Innovative development financing instruments: Finding new pathways