Policy Updates

On October 15, 2024, the EU announced additional EUR22 million (US$24 million) in humanitarian aid for humanitarian projects in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia and Malaysia bringing the support to the region in 2024 to almost EUR95 million (US$105 million).

The EU is also going to deliver essential supplies for victims of typhoon Yagi via its EU Humanitarian Air Bridge flight initiative, with first shipments arriving in Laos in the coming days.

Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič visited the region to represent the EU at the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. Later in the week, he will also sign an agreement on disaster management with the ASEAN's Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management. The agreement will allow better cooperation between the EU and ASEAN countries to prepare and respond to disasters which frequent the region.

On October 14, 2024, during the World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany, Norway announced a pledge of approximately NOK1 billion (US$90 million) to the WHO for the period 2025-2028.

This contribution was announced during the WHO's first fundraising round for sustainable financing, which Norway co-hosted alongside Germany and France. The funds will support the WHO’s core activities, in addition to mandatory contributions and emergency relief efforts.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre emphasized the WHO's critical role in global health coordination, especially during crises like COVID-19 and the mpox outbreak, underlining the importance of strong health systems and international cooperation.

Norwegian Health Minister Jan Christian Vestre highlighted the cross-border nature of health challenges and the importance of the WHO's leadership in ensuring global access to up-to-date health information. The flexible funding from Norway is intended to enable the WHO to meet priorities set by its member states, as the majority of its current budget relies on voluntary, earmarked donations.

Norwegian Development Minister Anne Beathe Kristiansen Tvinnereim stressed that building resilient health systems takes time, and flexible funding ensures that the WHO can finance its key tasks, including responding to future pandemics.

On October 11, 2024, the EC held a second plenary meeting with the Global Gateway Civil Society and Local Authorities Advisory Platform, bringing together European institutions and representatives from global and regional organizations working on development.

The aim was to take stock of Global Gateway flagship programs and collect recommendations from CSOs. The EC has also released a report examining the consultations that took place in 2023 between the EU Delegations and CSOs.

The EC announced that the EU’s support to CSOs amounted to at least EUR1.2 billion (US$1.3 billion) per year in the EU's development budget during the years 2021-2023, representing an increase from EUR1.1 billion (US$1.2 billion) on average in the previous years.

On October 10 and 11, 2024, the G7's Health Ministerial Meeting took place in Ancona, Italy. The discussion focused on three overarching priorities: Global Health Architecture and Pandemic Preparedness and Response, healthy and active aging, and the One Health Approach.

The G7 Health Ministers Communiqué, released at the end of the meeting, highlights the G7's commitment to supporting SDG #3 through universal health coverage, primary health care, and sexual and reproductive health. This also includes maternal, neonatal, child, and adolescent health, strengthening the global health architecture by investing in PPR, promoting regional manufacturing of health products, and equitable access to quality health services.

The communiqué emphasized the health-related impacts of conflicts with a reference to the crises in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, and Sudan. Furthermore, in the communiqué, the G7 Ministries committed to continue to support Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund, whose replenishment processes will occur in the upcoming months.

The Civil 7 engagement group, a platform through which civil society can engage with the G7, reacted with a communiqué in which they expressed an appreciation for the re-commitment to ending HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria through robust support for the Global Fund in its replenishment next year. This support is crucial to ending the three epidemics as agreed upon in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Finally, the G7 Health Ministers also adopted a policy brief on the opportunities presented by AI for both healthcare providers and patients.

On October 10, 2024, USAID Deputy Administrator Isabelle Coleman delivered an address highlighting two new policies to strengthen US foreign assistance implemented by the agency.

The first was a position paper on cost-effectiveness, which seeks to get the maximum impact out of every dollar spent by USAID. This strategy includes the use and generation of cost-effectiveness evidence.

The second policy announcement concerned cash transfers and set forth principles and best practices for how and when to leverage direct money transfers to individuals, households, and microenterprises.

Coleman made the comments at an event hosted by the Center for Global Development. These policy changes result from years of study, evaluation, and evidence building.

On October 10, 2024, France’s draft budget was presented to parliament, including a EUR1.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) cut to the ODA budget.

The cut represents a 23% decrease in the ODA mission compared to the 2024 budget law, from EUR5.7 billion (US$6.3 billion) in 2024 to EUR4.4 billion (US$4.9 billion) in 2025. The ODA mission accounts for about half of France’s total ODA and is the “core of French aid,” providing resources for bilateral and multilateral organizations and projects through grants and loans.

In addition, the draft budget intends to put an end to France’s innovating financing for ODA. Until now, part of the Financial Transaction Tax and the Solidarity Levy on Airplane Tickets was automatically allocated to the Solidarity Fund for Development each year, totaling EUR738 million (US$816 million), to support France’s financing for multilateral instruments, such as the Global Fund, IFFIm, Unitaid, the Green Climate Fund and the Global Partnership for Education. 100% of the proceeds of both taxes will now fund the general budget.

These innovative finance mechanisms had mobilized a growing amount of ODA funds over the years. The decision to remove them has been taken to respect a law passed in 2021 to restrict the use of pre-allocated taxes.

On October 9, 2024, the EC organized an event to reflect on the Global Gateways’ progress to foster youth engagement in building a more sustainable future, bringing together policymakers, members of the EU’s Youth Sounding Boards, and other young leaders to take stock of the achievements under the first-ever Youth Action Plan in EU external action, 2022-2027.

President von der Leyen talked about the need to focus on green and digital skills and the EU’s commitment by investing EUR970 million (US$105 million) in vocational training and education via Global Gateway. The President's speech mainly focused on the world economy, trade, and infrastructure in developing countries to empower youth. Following her address to the European Parliament in July she reiterated that all new Commissioners will organize their annual Youth Policy Dialogues within the first 100 days of the new mandate and the President herself will set up a Youth Advisory Board.

Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen highlighted that the EU goals are to engage, empower, and connect young people. She celebrated the main achievements in youth policy:

• 33 youth sounding boards established globally and almost 100 youth focal points appointed in the EU Delegations;
• Launch of the Women and Youth Democratic Engagement (WYDE) program;
• EUR10 million (US11 million) allocated for the Youth Empowerment Fund to support grassroots youth initiatives;
• Launch of the Investing in Young Business for Africa to help youth, especially women, grow their business; and
• The EU alumni initiative.

On October 9, 2024, Australia announced that it is providing AUD9 million (US$6 million) to the Regional Pacific NDC Hub.

Led by Pacific countries, the Hub provides expertise and resources that Pacific nations require to meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement. Through the Hub, the 14 Pacific Island countries can access support for low-emission development, emissions reporting and investment planning. The Hub has been in operation since 2017.

The funds will be provided to the South Pacific Community through an agreement with the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

On October 9, 2024, South Korea attended the 11^th Steering Committee Meeting of the Ukraine Donor Platform held in Rome, Italy.

South Korean Representative Byung Ha Jung presented the government’s efforts to support Ukraine’s reconstruction in education, infrastructure, and health and medical care. He also held bilateral meetings with representatives of Ukraine, the EU, the UK, Sweden, and other countries to discuss cooperation. Through this participation, the South Korean government reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Ukraine’s reconstruction.

On October 9, 2024, in response to the escalating humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, the Swedish government announced a significant increase in funding, pledging an additional SEK84 million (US$8 million) to support relief efforts.

The decision comes as the UN estimates that over one million people in Lebanon are in urgent need of emergency assistance, with hundreds of thousands displaced from their homes.

The announcement followed the UN's Flash Appeal for Lebanon launched on October 1, 2024, which highlighted the critical need for shelter, food, clean water, medicine, and medical care. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund, to which Sweden is a major contributor, has already allocated US$10 million to the crisis.

Sweden's latest assistance package brings its total humanitarian support to Lebanon for 2024 to SEK158 million (US$14 million), more than doubling its previous commitment. The funds will be distributed through various channels, including:

• SEK53 million (US$5 million) to the UNHCR for cross-border assistance between Lebanon and Syria;
• SEK7 million (US$630,000) to the Lebanese Red Cross via the IFRC;
• SEK20 million (US$2 million) to the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund, managed by the UNOCHA; and
• SEK4 million (US$315,000) to Save the Children in Lebanon.