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Accelerating development in fragile States: the role of the OECD development assistance committee.

Article Excerpt
One sixth of the world's population lives in fragile States, which are also home to one out of every three people surviving on less than a dollar a day. Of all the children in the world who die before reaching their fifth birthday, half were born in these countries. Of all the women who die in childbirth, one in three dies in these countries. While other developing countries are making progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), these fragile nations, ranging from Haiti to Nepal, from Burundi to Uzbekistan, are falling behind. In 2006, their per capita gross domestic product grew by an average of only 2 per cent, compared with an average 6-per-cent growth in other low-income countries. The gap with other developing countries has been widening since the 1970s.

Why is this happening? Some countries are trapped in a vicious cycle of conflict and poverty. Others suffer from a "natural resource...

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