A Coherence Deficit

Policy coherence for development involves the systematic establishment of mutually reinforcing policy action across government departments and agencies to promote poverty reduction and sustainable development. Coherence was a central theme of the U4 from the very beginning of their collaboration. This chapter discusses U4 efforts to promote policy coherence to deal with three issues: first, it addresses conflicts between aid objectives and developed country trade policy. Subsidized agricultural exports from the USA and Europe wreaked havoc on assistance programmes trying to increase production and incomes of poor farmers in Africa. Second, it discusses U4 efforts to ensure that poor countries were able to use aid money to buy goods or services from the least expensive source and were not forced to buy only from the donor—whose producers may not have been competitive. The final section discusses coherence between environment and development concerns as they emerged in the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002.