4 April 2012
The OECD says the fall comes at a time when poorer countries themselves have been hit by economic crisis
The amount of aid given to developing countries by richer nations has fallen for the first time since 1997 because of the global recession, a report says.
Major donors gave $133.5bn (£83bn; 100.2 euros) in 2011, down 2.7% on 2010, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said.
The OECD said in its annual report that the drop was the result of tight budgets in its member countries.
The aid group Oxfam condemned the fall, saying it would "cost lives".
"Hundreds of thousands of poor people will go without life-saving medicines and many more children will miss out on school because of the first cuts in global aid since 1997," Oxfam said in a statement.
The figure excludes variations in exceptional debt relief, according to the OECD.
