Online system to track foreign aid
The government has taken an initiative to develop an online system that will track the incoming flow of aid into Bangladesh in an effort to ensure accountability and transparency for both the government and development partners.
The Economic Relations Division yesterday organised a meeting at the NEC conference room to share the 'beta version' of Aid Information Management System (AIMS) with stakeholders, including development partners and civil society organisations.
Arastoo Khan, additional secretary of ERD, chaired the meeting where Md Shakhawat Hossain, an ICT specialist from ERD's Aid Effectiveness Project, and Karolien Casaer, a UNDP policy specialist, delivered presentations on AIMS, an application that records and processes information on development activities and aid flow in a country.
It captures project-level information on commitments, disbursements and expenditures by donors, the implementer, and the sector and geographic location.
Bangladesh is going to establish the web-based AIMS that will first enhance transparency and public oversight of aid covering all the projects, as data will be accessible by all—government, development partners, civil society and the broader public, Khan said.
The software owned by ERD and developed by local IT company TechnoVista, cost Tk 30 lakh, under the multidonor-funded Aid Effectiveness Project.
The website will be ready for use by December.
ERD seeks comments and suggestions from stakeholders, such as development partners and civil society organisations, for further customisation of the software, an ERD official said.
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