With a total of just 0.34 per cent of its gross national income (GNI) being spent to assist developing countries, Canada is less than halfway to its own target for development spending.

On numerous occasions, Canada and many of the world's richest nations have pledged to commit 0.7 per cent of their GNI to assist developing countries. The current goal is to reach this target by 2015.

A Plan is Needed
While the deadline for meeting this self-set target is still several years away, some groups have expressed concern that Canada does not even have a plan that will allow it to meet its commitment of 0.7 per cent by 2015.

In fact, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that "developed countries that have not already done so should establish timetables to achieve the 0.7 per cent target of gross national income for official development assistance by no later than 2015."

Who's On Target
To this point, a handful of countries have actually met the 0.7 per cent target ahead of the deadline. These countries include:

Canada's Potential Role
The good news is that if Canada does put a plan in place to meet the 0.7 per cent goal by 2015, significant progress can be made toward ending extreme poverty. According to the UN's Millennium Project:

"If every developed country set and followed through on a timetable to reach 0.7 per cent by 2015, the world could make dramatic progress in the fight against poverty and start on a path to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and end extreme poverty by 2015."

World Vision Canada is actively encouraging the Canadian government to live up to its goals for spending on development. Click here to read about World Vision's efforts.