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URGENT ACTION FOR AFRICA:

In the meantime, OECD and African countries must work together to ensure that the resolution on urgent action for Africa is implemented. The OECD countries must work together more productively, perhaps even through the formation of partnerships where funding from one country could be matched with technical expertise from another. This, in turn, could be matched with the very real needs of affected regions in Africa. As the negotiating process has demonstrated, there is an urgent need to channel more coordinated assistance to Africa. There is also a need to: move from a traditional donor-recipient relationship to a true partnership association; generate a more productive on-going dialogue with the Africans; and increase the percentage of financial assistance that actually reaches projects by reducing or eliminating such obstacles as tied aid and excessively high overhead costs.