*The way to play ODA* Even after this wave of punishing cuts in both the United States and the United Kingdom, it is likely that total annual global flows of official development assistance, or *ODA, will still sit at around $100 billion*, writes Adrian Lovett, executive director for the United Kingdom, Middle East, and Asia Pacific at ONE, in a Devex opinion piece <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POhclVMjy-fPC1nQx1DZzXLnwxI59LN5rTBQpVEdToOfFa1z5rFyc3VvMuzoN5fPNzdg2VkpUHuA1uJ9V_zwXq-chCXNJoAD3HjC6fhuGLml4GE_b3MdDN5yuodZN_YtrLf2ZD7zUged1zri1JxRUZTcpWj87up7QLlHqAiH5BCOrlauEKw3odsbe2KDiDRIfzM7UKwgTJFU_YGDqCY_hCA5E78jv2kiYNyHzuxhr9DNQVIs4VlVOh5jqhrpU0U0EcQ==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecraO3zNcB_BwHAZ7M4cE30TifoRRnd_JWtVD-JTxVBuxaih9Sv6i5bP2s9Ih_L-2Vt8=> .
That’s still a lot of money and *it needs to be used wisely*, he argues. For Lovett, there are three paths. One, ODA must be more than just an emergency service. “Firefighting without fire prevention is wasteful and has a deadly cost,” he writes. “Second, ODA should be *a tool for the redistribution of wealth*,” he adds, noting that “Mutual international investments in sustainable growth, stability, health, and prosperity are win-win, not zero-sum.” And thirdly, aid should be “an authentic and contemporary channel of those instincts of humanity: for cooperation, empathy, and partnership.” “Transactions that are merely tools for extracting power or for gaining geopolitical advantage have no place in this definition.” *Opinion:* From cuts to common cause, how do we rethink global development? <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POhclVMjy-fPC1nQx1DZzXLnwxI59LN5rTBQpVEdToOfFa1z5rFyc3VvMuzoN5fPNzdg2VkpUHuA1uJ9V_zwXq-chCXNJoAD3HjC6fhuGLml4GE_b3MdDN5yuodZN_YtrLf2ZD7zUged1zri1JxRUZTcpWj87up7QLlHqAiH5BCOrlauEKw3odsbe2KDiDRIfzM7UKwgTJFU_YGDqCY_hCA5E78jv2kiYNyHzuxhr9DNQAo-IeSHPze-vzRMLuFmC-A==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecraO3zNcB_BwHAZ7M4cE30TifoRRnd_JWtVD-JTxVBuxaih9Sv6i5bP2s9Ih_L-2Vt8=>
