Benin Human Development Report

Benin's NHDR 2003 addresses the issue of financing sustainable human development. The Report provides a critical assessment of the uses of existing financial resources for development. By doing so, the Report insists on the need to focus resources on correcting actual discrepancies between the evolution of the GNP and poverty. To that aim, the Report puts the stress on the human dimension of development, regarded as the basic underlying factor of allocation priorities. The effectiveness of financial resources provided by the state, commercial and development banks, micro-credit institutions, informal finance, subsidies and international aid is thus assessed against the opportunities these allocations offer to improve people's living conditions. The Report also looks at new financing canals that are likely to foster a more equitable allocation of financial means for human development.