The annual ranking by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development says Canada's aid contributions dropped to 0.24 per cent of GDP in 2014, down from 0.27 per cent the previous year.

Western governments have long used bilateral aid and World Bank lending to gain favors in the international arena and to influence the domestic politics of poorer countries. Japan has similarly applied its preponderant influence in the Asian Development Bank.

The cuts will send Australia tumbling down the ladder of global big-heartedness. We'll drop from being the 13th most generous donor among wealthy industrial nations to 19th, at today's levels for other donors.

Russia urged the U.N. Security Council on Saturday to call for a "humanitarian pause" in airstrikes by a Saudi-led military coalition to help evacuate foreigners from Yemen and unhindered access to deliver aid to civilians caught in the fighting between Shiite rebels and supporters of the country's beleaguered president.

In ways big and small, life without access to financial services is more difficult, expensive and dangerous. It constrains a woman’s ability to plan for her family’s future. At the community level, it traps households in cycles of poverty. More broadly, it limits the economic growth potential of developing countries.

The international community has pledged $3.8bn to tackle the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Syria – less than half the amount the UN says is needed this year to help the millions of people affected by the ongoing conflict.

But China’s growing economic role in Vietnam has faced a backlash which intensified after Beijing last year parked an oil rig in waters Hanoi also claims. Since then, China has sought to win over neighbors with pledges of development funds, and bills a new Asian development bank as a consensus-based approach to aid.

The issue is an important one, because in September the United Nations will likely endorse a new set of Sustainable Development Goals to "end poverty, transform all lives, and protect the planet" by 2030. Among the 17 broad and ambitious goals are ending hunger, ensuring healthy lives, achieving gender equality and providing access to justice for all.