What is development aid?

Development aid (or development assistance) is a much bigger sector than humanitarian aid, requiring far more money, as it focuses on helping extremely poor countries develop economically and socially in the long term. This can involve improving infrastructure, building schools and medical centres, providing clean water supplies, tackling the effects of climate change in vulnerable countries (see Climate Change), enabling access to anti-retroviral drugs, setting up microfinance initiatives (see Microfinance), providing financial grants, loans, or debt forgiveness grants, and donating skills and expertise in many different areas. In the long run, development schemes aim to help poor countries become self-sufficient, well governed, safe and economically prosperous.