Inter Press Service examines how “[m]any NGOs, U.N. agencies and parliamentarians continue to call on governments around the world to do more for women’s reproductive rights” through development assistance. The article highlights remarks made by Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, at a conference on development aid held in Paris this week, where she said development aid that benefits women can help “a society to grow and develop” and eventually allow nations to become less dependent on aid.

The article also notes the results of an analysis released this week by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which showed development aid from developed nations dropped by nearly three percent last year for the first time in more than a decade. Finally, IPS describes efforts by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to implement innovative financing mechanisms for development aid, such as a financial transactions tax (FTT). The article includes comments from representatives of the French branch of ONE and the French government (McKenzie, 4/5).