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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Italy launches Food for Gaza partnership

March 12, 2024 | Italy, Nutritious Food Systems, WASH & Sanitation | Share this update

On March 12, 2024, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani announced that Italy would launch the initiative Food for Gaza, a humanitarian initiative in partnership with FAO, the WFP, and the IFRC, to facilitate the delivery of food assistance and ensure food security in the Gaza Strip.

The initiative is slated to focus on streamlining access to food and WASH assistance by collaborating with relevant organizations. Italy also announced that, as the current G7 president, it would bring the initiative to the EU and G7 to lay the groundwork for Gaza's reconstruction.

This initiative has built upon Italy's ongoing assistance to Gaza beginning in October 2023, which includes EUR20 million (US$22 million) in assistance.

News article - Onu Italia (in Italian)

Italy launches US$1 billion partnership to promote global citizenship

February 26, 2024 | Italy, Climate | Share this update

On February 26, 2024, AICS and the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security entered a Collaboration Agreement, totaling EUR982 million (US$1 billion), to finance pathways of transformative promotion and awareness-raising for sustainable development and global citizenship through 2027.

The funding is intended to support the experimentation of collaborative modalities among different institutional, research, and non-state actors.

The partnership was described as pivotal to fully implementing Italy's National Strategy for Sustainable Development and the Strategy for Education for Global Citizenship.

Press release - The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (in Italian)

Italy launches US$196 million call for proposals for NGO, local authority projects

February 12, 2024 | Italy | Share this update

On February 12, 2024, AICS, in partnership with MAECI, launched a US$196 million (EUR180 million) call for proposals for projects led by CSOs and local Italian authorities.

US$130 million (EUR120 million) is slated for projects led by CSOs. US$66 million (EUR60 million) is slated for initiatives from Italy's regional and local authorities.

The new grant is the highest-value call for development cooperation in this sector in recent years, and the first operational follow-up to Italy's Mattei Plan for Africa.

85% of the resources will be allocated to Africa. 15% is slated for other countries, including Ukraine.

Press release - Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (in Italian)

Italy launches US$6 billion 'Mattei Plan' at Africa-Italy Summit

January 29, 2024 | Italy, Education, Agriculture, Agricultural R&D, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, WASH & Sanitation, Global Health, Climate, Nutritious Food Systems | Share this update

On January 28 and 29, 2024, Italy hosted the Africa-Italy Summit, chaired by the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, during which 25 African leaders and diplomats joined Italian and EU leaders to launch the pilot programs of Italy's flagship foreign policy initiative, also known as the Mattei Plan for Africa.

Meloni announced EUR5.5 billion (US$6 billion) in credits, grants, and guarantees under the plan. EUR3 billion (US$3.3 billion) will come from the Italian Climate Fund, as announced at COP28, and EUR2.5 billion (US$2.7 billion) will come from the newly created multilateral fund at the African Development Bank.

Rome identified a set of countries in the SSA and North African regions to begin implementing the plan, and noted aims to expand the list. Among the first projects announced were:

  • A large vocational training center on renewable energy in Morocco;
  • Education projects in Tunisia; and
  • Health accessibility in the Ivory Coast.

Other projects are planned in Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, and the DRC.

Priority areas of intervention were announced as:

  • Education and training: Interventions will be aimed to promote training teachers, adjusting curricula, launching new vocational and training courses in line with the needs of the labor market, and collaborating with enterprises, particularly involving Italian operators and the Italian SMEs model;
  • Agriculture: Interventions will be aimed at decreasing malnutrition rates, fostering the development of agri-food supply chains, and supporting the development of non-fossil biofuels. The development of family farming, the preservation of forestry, and combating and adapting to climate change through integrated agriculture are considered fundamental;
  • Health: Interventions will be aimed to promote strengthening health systems, improving accessibility and quality of primary MNCH services, strengthening local capacities for the management, training, and employment of health personnel, research, and digitalization, and developing strategies and systems to prevent and contain health threats, particularly pandemics and natural disasters; and
  • Energy: Interventions will be aimed to make Italy an energy hub, acting as a bridge between Europe and Africa. Interventions will feature the climate-energy nexus to strengthen energy efficiency and the use of renewable energies, with initiatives to accelerate energy transition.
  • Water: interventions will involve drilling wells powered by photovoltaic systems, maintenance of pre-existing water points, investments in distribution networks, and awareness-raising activities about using clean, potable water.
Press release - Italy's government (in Italian)

Italy commits to preserving ODA levels despite economic crisis

January 19, 2024 | Italy | Share this update

On January 19, 2024, Italian President Sergio Mattarella met with Co-Chair of the BMGF Bill Gates and committed to ensuring that the Italian ODA budget will not be cut, despite current economic and fiscal turmoil in Italy.

Gates and Mattarella also discussed the impact of AI on international cooperation, as well as Italy's upcoming G7 presidency.

News article - ANSA (in Italian)

C7 launches Italy's 2024 presidency website

January 18, 2024 | Italy | Share this update

On January 18, 2024, the G7's civil society engagement platform launched the website for Italy's 2024 G7 presidency.

Italian NGO GCAP Italy will host the C7.

The C7 set up seven working groups for 2024, which included:

  • Climate energy transformation and environmental justice;
  • Economic justice and transformation;
  • Global health;
  • Principled humanitarian assistance;
  • Peace, common security, and nuclear disarmament;
  • Human mobility and migration; and
  • Food justice and food systems transformation.
Web Page - C7

Italy appoints new director general of Italian cooperation

December 20, 2023 | Italy | Share this update

On December 20, 2023, Stefano Gatti, a former Italian special envoy on food security, was appointed Director General of Cooperation at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Gatti has a long career in Italian diplomacy and recently served as the Italian Ambassador to Australia.

News article - Giornale Diplomatico (in Italian)

Former Italian Minister of Agriculture appointed FAO Deputy Director-General

December 4, 2023 | Italy, Agriculture | Share this update

At the 174th Session of the Council of the FAO, FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu announced the appointment of Maurizio Martina as Deputy Director-General of the FAO, replacing Deputy Director-General Laurent Thomas, who retired after more than thirty years of service with FAO.

Martina, an Italian national and former Italian Minister for Agriculture, previously worked as Assistant Director-General and Senior Advisor to the Director-General.

Unspecified - FAO website

Italy signs memorandum to support CO2 reduction and adaptation in Ethiopia

December 2, 2023 | Italy, Climate | Share this update

On December 2, 2023, at COP28, Italy signed a Memorandum of Understanding underlining future climate cooperation between Italy and Ethiopia, which committed approximately EUR7 million (US$8 million) from Italy's Ministry of Environment and Energy Security to projects for CO2 reduction and climate adaptation.

The signing occurred during a meeting between Italian Minister of Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto-Fratin and Ethiopian Minister of Planning and Development Fitsum Assefa.

Press release - Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (in Italian)

Team Europe pledges US$21.8 billion for clean energy at COP28

December 2, 2023 | Sweden, France, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, EUI, Climate | Share this update

On December 2, 2023, the EU institutions, the EIB, the EBRD, and the Member States that comprise Team Europe pledged EUR20 billion (US$21.8 billion) for clean energy partnerships with African partners.

The funding announcement listeed EUR3.4 billion (US$3.7 billion) in grants and covered the period from 2021-2027. The project, AEGEI, aims to produce over 50 Gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030.

12 EU Member States contributed to the funding. No language regarding specific partner countries was included in the announcement.

Press release - EU Commission

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US$ amounts are cited directly from sources; in the absence of an official conversion, they are calculated using the previous week's average of the US Federal Reserve's daily exchange rates.

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