Policy Updates

Each week, Donor Tracker's team of country-based experts bring you the most important policy and funding news across issue areas in the form of Policy Updates.

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BOND sets out manifesto for new UK government

March 24, 2024 | UK, Education, Agriculture, Gender Equality, Agricultural R&D, Nutritious Food Systems, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, Family Planning, WASH & Sanitation, Climate, Global Health, Security policy | Share this update

On March 24, 2024, BOND published a new manifesto setting out the steps the next UK government should take to help deliver on the SDGs and work in solidarity with its partners.

The manifesto is based around seven key asks:

  • Act as a responsible and ambitious development partner. This includes returning ODA to 0.7% of GNI and providing new and additional resources for meeting global climate finance and ensuring the ODA program is headed by a cabinet-level minister with dedicated and well-resourced staff;
  • Create an equitable and sustainable international financial system that works for people, nature, and the climate. This includes supporting a UN sovereign debt workout mechanism to deal with unsustainable debt in lower-income countries, pursuing an ambitious MDB reform agenda that increases their provision of resources and makes their governance more representative, and supporting a universal UN Framework Convention on tax;
  • Recommit to the SDGs and ‘leaving no one behind. This includes ensuring UK development programs focus on those most in need, promoting gender transformative approaches to sustainable development, acknowledging care as an economic issue and a right and build the care economy in line with the 5Rs framework{title"recognition, reduction, redistribution, representation and reward"} for care work, and scaling up efforts to deliver universal access to basic services;
  • Do our fair share to tackle the global climate and biodiversity crises. This includes ensuring all ODA is aligned with the Paris Agreement, providing genuinely new and additional grant finance for the Loss and Damage Fund;
  • Develop a new approach to UK trade and private sector investment. This includes introducing new legislation that mandates companies, the financial sector, and the public sector operating in the UK to carry out human rights and environmental due diligence. It also holds them to account for failures, reduce the volume of UK funding being used to capitalize BII until it reforms to ensure it does more to contribute to poverty reduction;
  • Promoting stability, security and effective crisis responses. This includes providing the UK’s fair share to support humanitarian crises, championing locally led approaches to anticipatory crisis prevention, action and resilience, establishing a prevention-focused national security outlook which focuses on preventing crises as well as responding to them; and
  • Protect and promote rights, freedoms and civic space. This includes prioritizing meaningful partnerships with human rights defenders, including indigenous communities, women, LGBTQI+ advocates, migrant rights advocates and environmental defenders, removing restrictions on civil society campaigning domestically, and working with other governments to reverse restrictions on civic space in public debate and policymaking.
Report - BOND

US passes FY2024 US foreign assistance bill, announces 6% cut

March 22, 2024 | US, Global Health, WASH & Sanitation, Education | Share this update

On March 22, 2024, the US foreign assistance budget for FY2024, which should have been passed before October 1, 2023, finally cleared the Congress and was signed by US President Joe Biden as part of a six-part appropriations package that required strong Democratic support in the US House to pass.

Foreign assistance funding saw an overall 6% cut to funding across various funding lines.

Humanitarian funding through USAID increased by US$800 million. PEPFAR's funding remained level and also received one-year authorization, which global health advocates had strongly pushed for. Other global health programs saw level funding, and Gavi received a US$10 million increase.

Other development accounts, such as programs for WASH, democracy, and education were cut. Global heath security saw a decrease of US$200 million. The World Bank's IDA allocation was cut by US$50 million. UNRWA, the Palestinian refugee agency, was reduced to zero.

The boost to humanitarian and refugee support seen in the US in 2023 came at the cost of developmental programs. Advocates criticized that with this, the US is funding the shorter term at the cost of solving longer-term problems. Given acute global needs and crises, development experts expressed concern about the trade-offs that will be necessary with the new development budget cuts.

News article - Devex

Sweden reinforces development cooperation ties with US

March 18, 2024 | Sweden, US, Education, Agriculture, Climate, International development, Global Health, Nutritious Food Systems | Share this update

On 13 March 2024, Sweden announced a new agreement between Sida and the USAID, which is set to advance sustainable development initiatives, prioritizing local initiatives and engaging the private sector closely.

The agreement was officially sealed in Washington DC on 4 March by Sida's Director-General Jakob Granit and USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman.

The agreement, slated to span the next four years, introduces new focus areas including digitalization, cybersecurity, the enhancement of global public goods like food security, climate action, and the improvement of transparency and oversight in development.

Press release - Press Release - Government of Sweden

Canada announces US$49 million for international development projects in Mozambique

March 18, 2024 | Canada, Global Health, Education, Gender Equality, Family Planning | Share this update

On March 18, 2024, Canadian Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen announced CAD66 million (US$49 million) in funding for six international development projects to support sexual and reproductive health and rights, mental health, and education for women and girls in Mozambique.

Projects included:

  • CAD20 million (US$15 million) to the University of Saskatchewan for their Sexual and Reproductive Health for Young Women in Inhambane project, which aims to improve sexual, reproductive and maternal health and rights in the province of Inhambane;
  • CAD20 million (US$15 million) to Pathfinder International for Impacto II: Supporting Family Planning Services in Mozambique, which aims to improve gender equality, self-determination, and access to sexual and reproductive health services in the Tete and Manica provinces;
  • CAD13 million (US$10 million) to the UNDP through Action for Girls and Young Women’s SRHR, which removes barriers that prevent young women from accessing sexual and reproductive health rights services;
  • CAD7 million (US$5 million) to the WHO’s Improving Data for Better Health Systems project, which aims to improve the quality of data to facilitate decision-making on sexual, reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health;
  • CAD5 million (US$4 million) to the University of Washington for the project Empower Mental Health, focused on strengthening existing health care and community-based systems of mental health care for underserved populations in the provinces of Manica and Sofala; and
  • CAD1 million (US$1 million) to the Voluntary Service Overseas for their Empowering Adolescent Girls to Learn and Earn project, which aims to expand the basic literacy and numeracy of 3,000 out-of-school adolescent girls.
Press release - Global Affairs Canada

EU announces US$86 million for partnerships with Cambodia

March 12, 2024 | EUI, Agriculture, Education, Climate | Share this update

On March 12, 2024, Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen announced a battery of initiatives to support the EU - Cambodia relationship.

Two of these initiatives included Team Europe programs intended to mobilize EUR1.1 billion (US$1.1 billion) and EUR400 million (US$432 million) for green agriculture and factories, respectively. Within these initiatives, focuses included green energy and decent jobs.

Urpilainen also announced four new collaborations between the EU and Cambodia, worth EUR79 million (US$86 million), with sectoral foci including:

  • Agriculture, specifically sustainable farming practices that avoid deforestation;
  • Sustainable energy in the production of textiles and garments;
  • Digital skills, STEM education, and research; and
  • Economic and trade development, specifically addressing challenges specific to Cambodia and increasing competitiveness.
Press release - EU Commission

Canada resumes funding to UNRWA

March 8, 2024 | Canada, Global Health, Education, Agriculture | Share this update

On March 8, 2024, Canadian Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen announced that Canada is lifting its temporary pause on funding to the UNRWA.

Canada announced a temporary suspension of UNRWA funding on January 26, 2024, following allegations of the involvement of some UNRWA staff in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. As UNRWA has taken immediate measures to strengthen oversight and accountability, Canada resumed funding due to the vital role UNRWA plays in providing over 2 million people in Gaza with humanitarian relief, as well as other operations supporting 4 million people elsewhere in the region.

Press release - Global Affairs Canada

Japan provides US$93 million education development loan to Rwanda

March 6, 2024 | Japan, Education | Share this update

On March 6, 2024, Japan pledged a JPY14 billion loan (US$93 million) to Rwanda aimed at fostering economic and social transformation by improving teacher training and the educational environment.

This initiative, titled Development Policy Loan for the Education Sector, is slated to strengthen teacher training institutions, promote educational digital transformation, and enhance internal efficiency, contributing to the development of globally competitive talent.

This loan builds on Japan’s commitment, expressed at the TICAD8, to improve learning for children and provide quality education to 9 million people, alongside mainstreaming digital transformation in health, education, agriculture, and postal services.

Press release - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

Japan pledges US$6.8 million for children’s education in Syria

February 29, 2024 | Japan, Education | Share this update

On February 29, 2024, Japan pledged US$7 million to UNICEF to enhance the well-being and education of vulnerable and earthquake-affected children in Syria amid ongoing conflict and crises.

The contribution aimed to address the challenges faced by Syrian children after 13 years of conflict, economic crises, and recent earthquakes, which have caused significant fatalities and injuries and impacted millions, including 3.3 million children. This funding will support protection services, safe learning environments, and resilience-building for children and young people across Syria, emphasizing the recovery of learning losses and skills development for better societal integration and labor market engagement.

The donation underscored Japan’s commitment as a leading UNICEF donor, contributing approximately US$57 million between 2020 and 2023 to support Syrian children and families, underlining the importance of sustainable funding for early recovery and resilience-building efforts in the region.

Press release - UNICEF

Cooperation Canada publishes Global Landscape Analysis, outlines innovative development strategy

February 28, 2024 | Canada, Gender Equality, Climate, Global Health, Education | Share this update

On February 28, 2024, Cooperation Canada launched their Global Landscape Analysis of the international cooperation sector, a report of IDRC's Futures Initiative, which encompasses extensive research to provide a comprehensive outlook of the trends, challenges, and emerging issues impacting international development cooperation for the coming decade.

The report focused on five issue areas that present pressing challenges to international development: political, environmental, social, economic, and technological. It examined geopolitical shifts impacting issues, including climate change, gender equality, education, healthcare, and civil liberties.

The report was intended to be the first step to achieving the project’s goal of defining three transformative scenarios for global development cooperation. The report recommended that CSOs adopt innovative strategies in the face of a volatile international development cooperation landscape, including:

  • Strategic foresight: Implementing a systemic approach to anticipate challenges, explore alternative futures, and identify strategic opportunities;
  • Integrative thinking: Bringing siloes and developing holistic approaches that engage diverse stakeholders and systems;
  • Impact communication: Demonstrating impact and effectively communicating results and tangible outcomes, in the face of shrinking funding pools; and
  • Diversification of revenue streams: Diversifying revenue sources to bolster financial resilience in the face of challenges such as diminishing contributions from ODA and shrinking civic space.
Report - Cooperation CanadaWeb Page - Cooperation Canada

102 NGOs criticize French ODA cuts

February 27, 2024 | France, Agriculture, Education, Gender Equality, Climate, Global Health | Share this update

On February 27, 2024, 102 French NGOs signed an op-ed published in Le Monde.

The article called out France’s February 2024 budget cut of EUR742 million (US$804 million). CSOs argued the cut goes against Macron's 2021 Development Law, which set France on the path to acheiving a 0.7% ODA/GNI ratio. The article stated that by reducing its financial commitments, France had reduced its influence on the international stage at a time when it should be reaffirming its support to multilateralism and CSOs.

The article also underscored the impact that the cut would have on the poorest countries, highlighting projects across sectors that would be reduced or cut due to diminished funding.

Led by Coordination Sud President Olivier Bruyeron, signatures included:

  • UNICEF France President Adeline Hazan;
  • ONE France President Najat Vallaud-Belkacem;
  • Action contre la Faim President Aïcha Koraïchi;
  • Oxfam Director General Cécile Duflot;
  • WWF Director General Véronique Andrieux;
  • Secours catholique Director General Adélaide Bertrand;
  • Mouvement pour le planning familial Director Sarah Durocher;
  • Handicap International Director Manuel Patrouillard;
  • Global Citizen Vice-President for International Advocacy Friederike Röder;
  • Equipop Executive Director Aurélie Gal-Régniez;
  • CARE France co-directors Emanuela Croce and Alexandre Morel;
  • AMREF Health Africa Josselin Léon;
  • Friends of the Global Fund Executive Director Hélène Berger; and
  • Action Santé Mondial Director Patrick Bertrand.
Press release - Le Monde (in French)

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