A/64/279 enjoyment of basic economic and social rights, which will have a devastating disproportionate impact on the poorest and most vulnerable. 86. Given the limited financial and institutional capacity of some States to finance and implement social protection systems, it is imperative for developed countries to provide assistance to less developed countries. The majority of developing countries have nascent or no social protection systems and are frequently unable to respond, from an economic point of view, with counter-cyclical measures. 87. The financial crisis must not be used as an excuse to break the commitments made by developed countries to provide 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in official development assistance (ODA). Not only must the committed levels of ODA be maintained, but developed countries should respond to the call to pledge an amount equivalent to 0.7 per cent of their stimulus packages as additional aid, over and above existing ODA commitments. This additional aid would be used to protect against the worst effects of the economic crisis in low-income countries and to protect the poor and vulnerable in developing countries. 88. Since the early days of the crisis, world leaders have indicated their will to promote social protection programmes through economic recovery plans. This renewed emphasis on multilateralism and international cooperation is a very positive step. The opportunity must be used to firmly place social protection on the agenda of immediate crisis responses and as a key element in the long-term strategy to reduce poverty and inequality and protect the most vulnerable from future crises. 89. Some recently announced initiatives at the international level that can contribute to the efforts to enhance social protection are discussed below. A. The Vulnerability Financing Facility 90. The Vulnerability Financing Facility, set up by the World Bank is composed of the Bank’s Global Food Crisis Response programme and a rapid social response programme. It seeks to provide technical and financial assistance to support Governments in their immediate and near-term responses to the crisis. 91. While it is too early to assess how funds are being disbursed, it is already known that the rapid social response programme will finance interventions that primarily support access to basic social services, especially maternal and infant health and nutrition as well as school feeding programmes. Second, it will target safety-net programmes, and third it will tackle employment. 41 92. Grants made by the Vulnerability Financing Facility have the potential of boosting the capacity of domestic social protection programmes in the long term. It is important that the opportunity be used in such a way to ensure that measures are put in place to contribute to the realization of human rights, in particular, the rights to social security and to an adequate standard of living. 93. At the core of the rapid social response programme must be a commitment to universal social protection that benefits all vulnerable groups, together with support for building long-term and sustainable social security systems across the developing world. __________________ 41 20 See http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/financialcrisis/pdf/WBGResponse-VFF.pdf. 09-45276