Policy Updates

On September 8, 2025, Norway's Labor Party, led by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, won the Norwegian general election with 28.2% of the vote.

With the support of four smaller center-left parties, Labor has a chance of forming a rare two-seat majority government in the 169-seat Parliament.

The anti-immigration Progress Party, led by Sylvi Listhaug, made significant gains, doubling its vote share to nearly 24% and securing 48 seats. The Conservatives, led by former Prime Minister Erna Solberg, lost ground, receiving 14.6% of the vote.

Following the election, development organizations expressed hope that the new government would maintain a strong commitment to development assistance and climate action. Several organizations called for Norway to uphold its commitment to 1% ODA/GNI to development and to take a stronger stance on international issues, including the conflict in Gaza.

On September 8, 2025, French Prime Minister François Bayrou's government collapsed after the National Assembly rejected it in a confidence vote, deepening political paralysis and creating further uncertainty around a French financial crisis.

Bayrou initiated the special parliamentary session to address France's financial situation, asking lawmakers to formally agree on the need for an immediate reduction to the public deficit. The proposed austerity measures, which included freezing welfare payments and cutting national holidays, were rejected by a broad coalition of opposition parties, from far-right to far-left groups. Bayrou planned to negotiate the details of the cuts with unions and Parliament had the vote succeeded.

The government fell by a vote of 364 to 194. Following the vote, opposition leaders called for the dissolution of parliament or the resignation of French President Emmanuel Macron, which he declined.

The day following the vote, Macron named Sébastien Lecornu prime minister, making him the 7^th prime minister to serve under Macron and the 5^th since 2022. Lecornu previously served as defense minister and has held roles in every government since 2017. Macron directed Lecornu to work with Parliament’s political parties to secure a national budget and build necessary political agreements for upcoming decisions.

The new government will face immediate pressure to pass the 2026 budget, amid scheduled nationwide protests and a potential credit rating downgrade. Proposed solutions to the budget deadlock include appointing a negotiator to secure a budget agreement, or forming a temporary government to last until the next presidential election.

On September 7, 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation, citing a historic defeat in the July 2025 parliamentary election, which cost his LDP its parliamentary majority.

The July 2025 election saw the ruling coalition lose its majority in the 248-seat upper house, compounding an earlier loss in the lower house. The public rebuked the party for its handling of the economy, immigration, trade relations with the US, a political finance scandal, and a rice shortage. The LDP has governed Japan nearly uninterrupted since the 1950s.

After resisting calls from within his party to step down for over a month, Ishiba announced his resignation one day before the LDP was scheduled to decide on holding an early leadership election, which would have served as a no-confidence vote. The pressure mounted after the party's internal review of the election loss called for a "complete overhaul." The LDP is expected to hold a leadership election in early October 2025 to choose Ishiba's successor.

The next prime minister will inherit a divided party and a minority government, requiring cooperation with opposition parties to pass legislation. While Ishiba recently secured a reduction in US tariffs on Japanese exports from 25% to 15%, the overall economic situation remains a primary concern for voters.

On September 5, 2025, Canadian Secretary of State for International Development Randeep Sarai announced CAD3 million (US$2 million) in humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province, following a magnitude 6.0 earthquake on August 31, 2025.

The WFP will receive CAD1.3 million (US$941,000) for food and logistical services. The ICRC is allocated CAD1 million (US$724,000) to support communities affected by both conflict and the earthquake. Through the CHAF, CARE and IRC will each receive CAD350,000 (US$253,000) for vital assistance including clean water, sanitation, emergency shelter, and health services.

Additionally, Sarai announced that Canada is providing a separate total of CAD36 million (US$26 million) in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan in 2025. This broader funding supports life-saving assistance such as food, nutrition, emergency health care, and protection services, delivered through UN, Red Cross, and other NGO partners.

On September 4, 2025, the US Department of State announced a plan to provide the HIV-prevention drug lenacapavir to two million people by 2028, a commitment delivered through the PEPFAR and the Global Fund.

The developer of the drug, Gilead Sciences, stated it would offer the drug at no profit for the initiative. The plan follows a similar commitment made in December 2024, which had been put in doubt by funding cuts to the USAID in early 2025. As a key implementing agency for PEPFAR, USAID is on the front lines of the global HIV/AIDS response, working to deliver prevention, treatment, and care services. The funding cuts in early 2025 created significant uncertainty about the US government's ability to follow through on its global health commitments.

The announcement received mixed reactions. Health advocates criticized the target of two million people as too low to have a significant epidemiological impact compared to the estimated 40 million people in need of PrEP in SSA. Experts also raised concerns about implementation, questioning which populations would be prioritized, how logistical challenges like cold-chain and training would be addressed, and what the "at-cost" price from Gilead would be.

On September 2, 2025, ONE released a report indicating that the German government's proposed development budget cuts could lead to an estimated 650,000 deaths, nearly three million children unvaccinated against polio, and fail to prevent nine million new infections of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

The report highlights a significant planned decline in the budget of the BMZ by 2026, amounting to a 28% decrease from 2022 levels. During the same period, Germany's defense spending is set to increase to more than EUR86 billion (US$100 billion). The report highlights that the cuts represent just 0.05% of the total federal budget but may have life-threatening consequences for millions of people globally.

The report focused on the impact of a combined EUR542 million (US$632 million) reduction for 2025 and 2026 across four major international health and development organizations:

• The GFATM faces the largest cut of at least EUR350 million (US$408 million), with a potential additional reduction of EUR100 million (US$117 million) under discussion. This could result in 650,000 preventable deaths and a failure to stop nine million new infections;
• Funding for the GPEI is set to be halved between 2024 and 2026, a reduction of EUR18 million (US$21 million) that would leave 2.8 million children unvaccinated and risk 18,500 cases of permanent paralysis;
• A EUR160 million (US$187 million) cut to the IDA, the World Bank’s fund for the lowest-income countries, is projected to block between EUR500 million (US$583 million) and EUR600 million (US$700 million) in leveraged investments for health, water, and social safety nets; and
• Germany’s contribution to the UNFPA is expected to drop by one-third by 2026,falling from EUR43 million (US$50 million) in 2024 to EUR28 million (US$33 million) in 2026, endangering up to 925 lives and leaving hundreds of thousands of women and girls without access to health services and protection from violence.

On September 1, 2025, the KFS and the UNCCD held an international forum in Seoul, South Korea, to review the PFI and its role in using forest restoration for peacebuilding.

The PFI, launched in 2019, aims to restore degraded land in border and conflict-prone areas to build trust and promote the peaceful use of natural resources. The forum brought together climate envoys, international organizations, and civil society groups to discuss the initiative's achievements and strategies.

Discussions highlighted case studies, including a forest peace model in Bosnia and Herzegovina developed with the FAO and the UNDP, as well as climate security responses in Central Asia. During the event, memoranda of understanding were signed to advance peace building efforts in these regions.

On August 31, 2025, the UK government announced GBP3 million (US$4 million) in new funding through the UNFPA to provide life-saving support for pregnant women, new mothers, and girls in Gaza.

The announcement came amid a catastrophic humanitarian crisis and famine in parts of Gaza. Minister for the FCDO David Lammy stated that the healthcare system has been decimated and called for an immediate ceasefire and a surge in humanitarian assistance. The UK government urged the Israeli government to allow sufficient aid into Gaza to address the man-made catastrophe.

The new funding is part of a GBP60 million (US$82 million) humanitarian funding package for the Occupied Palestinian Territories for the financial year. The support, delivered through the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency ( UNFPA), will deploy midwives and deliver emergency medical supplies. UNFPA Arab States Regional Director Laila Baker noted that the contribution will support mobile maternity units

On August 29, 2025, the White House announced its intention to cancel US$4.9 billion in foreign assistance funding, a move that drew criticism from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress.

The administration plans to use a so-called pocket rescission to cancel the funds, which were previously approved by Congress. The maneuver involves the executive branch requesting to cancel funds so late in the fiscal year, which ends on September 30, 2025, that the money expires before Congress has the required time to formally reject the cut.

The clawback includes:

• US$3.2 billion in USAID development assistance;
• US$521 million in State Department contributions to international organizations;
• US$445 million in separately budgeted peacekeeping funding;
• US$393 million in State Department contributions to peacekeeping activities; and
• US$322 million from the USAID-State Department Democracy Fund.

The move was condemned by members of Congress from both parties. Secretary of State Marco Rubio supported the recission, stating the targeted programs were not in the US' interest, and highlighted cuts of US$2.7 million for “inclusive democracy” programs in South Africa and US$4 million for “global LGBTQI+ awareness.” OMB Director Russell T. Vought defended the move as a lawful tool, citing similar actions by past presidents.

The GAO previously ruled during the first Trump administration that such rescissions are illegal, but the issue has not been explicitly decided by courts. The dispute could complicate negotiations for a government funding package for the following fiscal year. An extended legal battle over the rescission is expected to follow.

On August 29, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced White House Budget Director Russell Vought will oversee the closure of USAID, which officially ceased its main operations on July 1, 2025.

Rubio stated on social media that USAID is now officially in a close-out mode, with a small set of core programs moved to the State Department. Vought previously led efforts to halt funding not aligned with US President Donald Trump's agenda.

Earlier in the year, Elon Musk and DOGE targeted USAID, alleging widespread fraud and misuse of funds, which Rubio claimed saved US taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. Supporters of the former agency argued that it served a critical function by providing food and medical assistance, investing in education and economic programs to stabilize countries, reduce migration, and combat terrorist influence.