The Working Party on Aid Effectiveness

Strengthening and Using Country Systems

The Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) reiterates and strengthens the commitments made in Paris for Strengthening and Using Country Systems. This results from strong evidence that although some progress has been achieved in strengthening country systems. Since 2005, 36% of countries have improved their score for public financial management (PFM) against a target of at least 50%, less progress has been achieved on the use of country systems, with only 45% of country systems being used in the countries surveyed in 2008 (as against the target of 80%).

Going Further

The survey results clearly show a lack of correlation between the quality of a country system and its use by donors. As a result, the AAA commits developing countries and donors to “strengthen and use developing country systems to the maximum extent possible”.

Objectives :

• Accelerate progress in donors’ use of country systems.
• Facilitate the strengthening of country systems and effective locally-rooted capacity to reform systems where deemed necessary.
• Better communicate the benefits of using country systems and involve a greater number of stakeholders (parliaments, Civil Society Organisations) in overseeing the strengthening and use of country systems.
  

The AAA defines country systems as follows: "systems for public financial management, procurement, audit, monitoring and evaluation, and social and environmental assessment". The consultation process undertaken by the cluster scoping team showed that country systems in priority should include: 

• Public Financial Management
• Procurement 
• Monitoring & evaluation (including statistics).

More information about Strengthening and Using Country Systems:

Key Tasks and Deliverables

Modalities for Implementing the Tasks