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.

In major blow to independent development assistance policy, UK's Department for International Development is merged into Foreign and Commonwealth Office

June 16, 2020 | UK | Share this update

On June 16, 2020, the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced that the Department for International Development (DFID) will be merged with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to create a new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Johnson said the merger was needed given the intensely competitive global geopolitical situation, citing the rising power of China in particular. He claimed that the new organization will enable the UK to fully unite its development assistance with its diplomacy efforts to bolster the UK's global foreign policy efforts.

The merger has been in the cards for some time; the Prime Minister publicly stated his support for the idea when he was Foreign Minister last year but the June 16 announcement has nonetheless taken many by surprise especially since it comes in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The decision was heralded as part of the government's ongoing integrated review of its foreign, defense, and development policy which has officially been put on pause due to COVID-19.

In the past, NGOs in the development space have raised concerns that a merger could result in a less poverty-focused UK development program. These concerns will be heightened now, given that part of Johnson's explicitly stated rationale for the merger is the mismatch between how the UK currently directs its development assistance and UK diplomacy, foreign policy, and security goals. Johnson noted that DFID's budget is four times the budget for the FCO; DFID spends as much on assistance to Zambia as it does to Ukraine — even though Johnson claims the latter is vital for European security — and spends ten times as much on development in Tanzania than in six countries in the Western Balkans — countries which Johnson cited as vulnerable to Russian interventions.

Under the merger, the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, will have the final say on what countries will receive UK development assistance and which will stop receiving it. A single UK strategy for each country will be overseen by the UK's National Security Council, which is chaired by the Prime Minister. In-country, all strategies will lead UK work at the country level and be implemented by UK Ambassadors.

The merger comes just one week after the UK cross-party parliamentary committee on international development called for the UK government to retain an independent DFID with a cabinet-level representative. The parliamentary committee’s interim report assessing UK development assistance effectiveness noted that a merger between DFID and the FCO had the potential to reduce the accountability of UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) and dilute the focus of UK ODA away from poverty reduction.

Press Release - UK Prime Minister's Speech to Parliament on DFID

News article - BBC

News article - The Guardian

News article - The Independent

Press release - UK Prime Minister's Speech to Parliament on DFIDNews article - BBCNews article - The GuardianNews article - The Independent

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UK Audit Office finds merger of FCO and DFID resulted in loss of senior staff

March 25, 2024 | UK | Share this update

On March 25, 2024, the UK’s NAO, the UK's independent public spending watchdog, released a new report assessing the merger of the FCO with DFID that found that, in some overseas posts, there has been a loss of dedicated senior development roles that reduced the capacity and credibility of the FCDO.

The report found that the number of expert development adviser roles, for example, fell by 14% from 867 in 2019 to 747 in 2022. The FCDO currently rates the risk of losing international development expertise as severe in recognition of the problem. The report also found that the merger, which took place in 2020, was undertaken without a clear vision, the timetable was unrealistic.

The NAO calculated that the merger has cost the UK government at least GBP24 million (US$30 million) but noted that there has been no systematic collection of the potential benefits and savings of the merger, making it difficult to evaluate the cost properly.

The report ended by noting that three years into the merger, there is still work to be done to fully integrated the two departments and ensure futher benefits.

Press release - The GuardianReport - NAO

US announces US$170 million in support to Guatemala

March 25, 2024 | US, Agriculture, Global Health, Climate | Share this update

On March 25, 2024, in a meeting with the Guatemalan President, US Vice President Kamala Harris announced US$170 million to Guatemala as part of the Root Causes Strategy, which is designed to help Guatemala build a more secure, prosperous, and democratic country.

The assistance, which includes US$135 million in funding from USAID, is aligned with Guatemalan key priorities, including combatting corruption, conserving biodiversity, scaling agricultural innovations, and improve health outcomes inclusively.

The funding is subject to Congressional approval.

Press release - USAID

Full program released for 2024 World Health Summit Regional Meeting

March 25, 2024 | Australia, Global health R&D, Global Health, Climate, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health | Share this update

On March 25, 2024, the forthcoming World Health Summit in Melbourne released its final detailed program.

The forum is slated to be hosted by Monash University and will focus on health issues across the Pacific and Southeast Asia. The summit will run from April 22 to 24, 2024, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

A range of international and Australian speakers are listed for the three parallel sessions being held each day at the forum. Topics include drug policy, future proofing the health workforce and strengthening health care financing in the Asia-Pacific.

Speakers include Jed Carney, Australia’s Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, and Helen Clark, formerly Prime Minister of New Zealand and head of the UNDP.

Web Page - WHS Regional Meeting

New review says FCDO’s capacity to tackle fraud risk diminished

March 25, 2024 | UK | Share this update

On March 25, 2024, the UK’s ICAI published the findings of its review into the FCDO’s management of fraud risk at the country level, which found underinvestment in the central anti-fraud team despite robust mechanisms and processes in place to tackle fraud, resulting in staff overseas lacking sufficient support.

The review found that underinvestment stemmed from a number of factors. The COVID-19 pandemic limited travel and reduced support, ODA budget cuts often impacted monitoring and evaluation, reducing oversight, and the FCDO merger led to new financial systems being put in place that took time to implement and train staff, resulting in inefficiencies. The review recommends that the FCDO:

  • Take a more robust and proactive approach to anticipating and finding fraud in assistance delivery;
  • Focus on the 20 ODA partner countries and ensure there are dedicated, well-trained and sufficiently senior resources to manage fraud risks; and
  • Increase the Head of Mission's oversight of and accountability for fraud risks.
Report - ICAI

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

Australia announces US$11 million in additional funding for TB treatment

March 24, 2024 | Australia, Global Health | Share this update

On March 24, 2024, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced Australia would provide AUD17 million (US$11 million) to the TB Alliance to improve access to tuberculosis treatments and develop more effective treatments, including new tuberculosis treatments for children.

The alliance has a new PeerLINC Hub in Manila, which has supported governments to introduce new treatments. Partner countries include Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

The new Australian funding would be provided through Partnerships for a Healthy Region program, which focuses on Pacific and South-East Asian countries to build equitable and resilient health systems.

Press release - Minister for Foreign Affairs

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

EU provides US$290 million for social services in Latin America, Caribbean

March 21, 2024 | Sweden, France, Spain, Germany, EUI, Global Health | Share this update

On March 21, 2024, the EU announced a contribution of EUR268 million (USS$290 million) at the EU - LAC High-Level Event on Inclusive Human Development and Equitable Access to Health Products.

Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Uprilainen announced the investment, made in cooperation with France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, and Sweden. The finance aims to mobilize EUR1 billion (US$1 billion) to support access to basic social services and rights and increase the transparency and accountability of government agencies.

The contribution was made in line with broader :abbrEU - CELAC cooperation, which aims to mobilize over EUR45 billion (US$49 billion) from 2024-2027 to support the SDGs and other efforts in the region.

Press release - EU Commission

Netherlands enters new government formation phase

March 20, 2024 | Netherlands | Share this update

On March 20, 2024, the Dutch House of Representatives debated the final report of former informant Kim Putters, discussed next steps for government formation, and appointed two new informants to explore the potential establishment of a ‘program cabinet’ based on shared agreements among the four negotiating political parties ( PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB.

Putters submitted his report on March 14, 2024, concluding that there is insufficient support among the four key political parties- the nationalist, right-wing populist PVV, the conservative-liberal VVD, the Christian Democratic NSC, and the right-wing populist BBB- to form a traditional majority or minority cabinet. Instead, there is backing for a ‘program cabinet’ where the four party leaders outline key objectives and financial parameters, which will then be fleshed out by the new cabinet ministers. Putters suggested a composition of 50% experienced politicians and 50% individuals less involved in politics to enhance public trust. None of the party leaders will assume the Prime Minister position, for which candidates will be determined later.

Putters recommends that the next informants assess the feasibility of this program cabinet, including the possibility of shared agreements among the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB. This marked a shift to substantive negotiations in the government formation process.

On March 20, 2024, the House of Representatives approved a motion by PVV leader Geert Wilders to appoint two new informants: Elbert Dijkgraaf, economist and former member of parliament for the Dutch Reformed Political Party, and Richard van Zwol, State Councillor and former top civil servant. They are expected to complete their task within 8 weeks.

Report - Kim Putters Final Report (in Dutch)News article - House of Representatives (in Dutch)

Canada announces US$22 million for democracy and human rights promotion

March 20, 2024 | Canada, Gender Equality | Share this update

At the Summit for Democracy on March 20, 2024, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Canada announced CAD30 million (US$22 million) to protect and strengthen global democratic institutions and human rights.

The funding will support new projects, including:

  • CAD22 million (US$16 million) to defend human rights and promote inclusion;
  • CAD6 million (US$4 million) to strengthen resilient democratic institutions; and
  • CAD3 million (US$2 million) to counter foreign interference.
Press release - Prime Minister of Canada

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