Wouldn’t all the funding just go to better-off areas, where it’s easier to make progress?
In traditional aid projects, where funds are directed to inputs, the concern over where a country focuses resources is a legitimate distributive concern. For a COD Aid agreement that pays for each additional student who completes school or for each averted death, the resources continue to flow so long as anyone in the country lacks access or faces undue health risks. Countries would have an incentive to choose a strategy that makes the most rapid progress. This will depend both on the relative costs and effectiveness of programs for serving different populations. Sometimes this will lead to tradeoffs that can only be resolved through public debate at a national level.
