Support for a set of international development targets has become universal in the development community over the 1990s. Most recently donors reaffirmed their commitment to development in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Increasing the level of aid is required to help finance progress towards these goals. But how much is needed? Would a doubling of aid volumes ensure success?

Doubling aid could provide the additional US$50 billion required annually. However, this target sum only represents the minimum estimates for each goal, and does not fully include the difficult-tocost health goals.

Moreover, many of the existing cost estimates are based on regional level computations, and therefore are at best indicative. More reliable and meaningful estimates need to be based on individual sector analysis at country level.