The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) donor countries spend millions of dollars each year on programmes to end modern slavery across the globe. Exactly how much is spent, however, has previously been unclear.
Minderoo Foundation has conducted research to estimate how much these countries are spending on international development projects combating modern slavery. A major finding of the research is that between 2003 and 2012, OECD donor countries contributed a combined average of USD 124 million annually, predominantly funding projects in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. Secondly, the sector is disproportionately funded by three countries—the United States (US), Norway and Japan—which together account for almost 75% of international development assistance on modern slavery. Thirdly, for countries included in the study, spending on modern slavery is only a tiny proportion of their total development assistance: with the largest spender (as a proportion of Overseas Development Assistance contributions) being Norway (0.36%), followed by the US (0.27%) and Australia (0.26%).
Read the full report about the OECD and modern slavery on the Anti-Trafficking Review.
