The Donor Tracker team wants to better understand its users' experience and to gather ideas about how we can make the Donor Tracker even more valuable to the global development community throughout the rest of 2020 and beyond. That's where we could use your help. We've put together a short survey to ask you directly about how you use the Donor Tracker, which content and features you find most useful, and the kinds of things you would like to see. Your responses will shape and inform new features that we bring to the website.

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On September 8, 2020, the new director of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Magdy Martínez-Solimán, hosted a meeting with leadership representatives from the development NGOs umbrella organization 'La Coordinadora'.

Martínez-Solimán acknowledged the valuable work done by development NGOs in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. La Coordinadora members highlighted the importance of the Spanish development budget for 2021 and urged the AECID to advance institutional reform of the development system, including new legislation for development cooperation.

Press release – AECID (in Spanish)

The cabinet of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has approved the new 'Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation', which aims to increase Spain’s public and private investments in research and development from the current 1.2% of the gross national income (GNI) to 2.1% of GNI by 2027.

The new strategy outlines six priority areas of intervention: health; culture, creativity, and inclusive society; human security, inequities, and migrations; digitalization, industry, space, and defense; climate change, energy, and mobility; and nutrition and the environment.

Press release – La Moncloa (in Spanish)

Spanish development NGO and umbrella organization 'La Coordinadora' called upon the Spanish government to strengthen development policy measures, particularly by increasing the Official Development Assistance (ODA) envelopes of the general state budget for 2021 by €900 million (US$1.0 billion). 

La Coordinadora stressed that the increase in ODA funding is essential for addressing new humanitarian and economic challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Press release – La Coordinadora

On July 28, 2020, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) appointed Magdy Esteban Martínez-Soliman as the new general director of AECID.

Magdy Martínez-Solimán underlined that his mandate within the AECID would be focused on the eradiction of poverty, ecological transition, Spanish multilateralism, and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. He also reiterated the Spanish government's commitment to increasing ODA to 0.5% of GNI by 2023 and is expected to work on reforming and modernizing the Spanish development cooperation system by 2022. 

Press release – AECID

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the launch of the new 'national recovery plan' aimed at addressing the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and fostering the country's long-term economic development. The national plan outlines four strategic priorities based on the principles of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, including:

• Digital transition;
• Green energy and ecological transition;
• Social cohesion; and
• Feminism and women's empowerment.

Press release – La Moncloa (in Spanish)

In recognition of World Humanitarian Day on August 19, 2020, the Spanish development NGO umbrella organization La Coordinadora released a communiqué calling upon the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to increase Spain’s spending for humanitarian assistance.

La Coordinadora urged the government to strengthen the Foreign Ministry’s Humanitarian Assistance Office and to increase the funding to development NGOs.

Spain's current humanitarian assistance flows have dropped sixfold compared to 2008 figures, now representing just 2% of Spain’s official development assistance (ODA), well below to the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) average of 10%.

Press release – La Coordinadora (in Spanish)

The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) launched its annual call for proposals for development NGOs implementing projects in partner countries. The funding line, which this year amounts to €25 million (US$29 million) and represents a US$3 million increase from 2019, will be mostly addressed to development projects focusing on vulnerable populations in priority partner countries affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

According to AECID, Spain’s priority partner countries are Bolivia, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jordan, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nicaragua, Niger, Palestine, Paraguay, Peru, the Philipines, the Saharawi People, Senegal, and Tunisia.

Press release – AECID (in Spanish)

Join the Donor Tracker this Thursday, August 6, 2020, from 16:00-17:00 (CEST), for a webinar addressing the pressing need for international climate finance in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

In 2015, the latest in a series of global climate change agreements was signed in Paris. The Paris Agreement includes a pledge made by donor countries to mobilize US$100 billion a year by 2020 for climate action in LMICs. This upcoming Donor Tracker webinar will examine the role that ODA can and should play in funding for climate action, including the US$100 billion target. It will include an overview of trends in ODA-related climate funding and policies by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) donors.

This webinar, and our recently published report on climate finance and ODA, complements the recent addition of ‘Climate’ as a sector of analysis across the Donor Tracker Donor Profiles. Climate was added this year in recognition of the importance of climate action to the future of global development efforts.

Registration - Zoom

Join Donor Tracker this Friday, July 24 from 15:00-16:00 (CEST) for a webinar exploring donor financing for women’s economic empowerment, featuring analysis from the Donor Tracker team and our partner, the ONE Campaign.

Gender equality, including women's financial inclusion and economic empowerment, has gained increasing attention from the international donor community in recent years; but to what extent can donors' rhetorical commitment to the issue be seen reflected in data on donors' financing for women's economic empowerment? In this Donor Tracker webinar, Kalila Jaeger and Isabela Vera from the Donor Tracker and Ebba Henningsson from ONE will guide participants through an introduction to the OECD’s gender equality policy marker, discuss the current state of donor finance for gender-related development programming, and explore trends in donor countries' spending on economic empowerment initiatives for women.

Registration - Zoom

As part of the recently released COVID-19 cooperation strategy, the Spanish government plans to disburse €1.7 billion (US$1.9 billion) in official development assistance (ODA) funding to support middle- and low-income countries in addressing the COVID-19 crisis. 

Of this amount, €318 million (US$358 million) will be disbursed as grants and €1.4 billion (US$1.6) as loans. Most of the new funds will be managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEUEC) and implemented by the Spanish development agency (AECID). Among other interventions, the AECID will channel €70 million (US$79 million) as humanitarian and emergency assistance to development NGOs and multilateral instruments.

Press release – MAEUEC (in Spanish)

On July 21, 2020, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEUEC) released the 'Spanish Cooperation Joint Strategy to Fight COVID-19' including an official development assistance (ODA) budget of €1.7 billion (US$1.9 billion) to be spent in the period 2020-2021.

According to this new strategic plan, the MAUEC will support middle- and low-income partner countries in the global response to and recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Priority interventions outlined at this plan include:

• Strengthening public health systems and guaranteeing universal access to essential health goods such as vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics for COVID-19;
• Supporting the most vulnerable populations, with a special focus on nutrition, water and sanitation, education, and gender equality; and
• Fostering socio-economic recovery in partner countries that are disproportionally affected by the crisis.

In addition, the strategy names gender, the environment, and not leaving anyone behind as cross-cutting priorities.

Press release – MAEUEC (in Spanish)

On July 21, 2020, the Spanish government’s cabinet (‘Consejo de Ministros’) approved several contributions to multilateral instruments and partner countries under the new €1.7 billion (US$1.9 billion) development plan, designed to address the COVID-19 crisis internationally.

These disbursements, which will be channeled as grants and loans by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Spanish Development Promotion Fund (FONPRODE), include:

• €33 million (US$37 million) in grants to multilateral organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Program, UN Women, UNICEF, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
• €85 million (US$96 million) in loans to Honduras, Peru, Colombia, Mali, and Senegal (some of this funding will be disbursed in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank).

​​​​Press release on new multilateral grants – MAEUEC (in Spanish)

Press release on new loans – MAEUEC (in Spanish)

Leaders of Canada, Ethiopia, South Korea, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and Tunisia published an opinion piece on the Washington Post to highlight the importance of guaranteeing equal access to COVID-19 vaccines globally.

In the piece, the leaders noted that while COVID-19 has affected every part of the world, it has had a more significant impact on vulnerable groups. The op-ed remarks that the development of COVID-19 vaccines will be crucial for achieving the SDGs, including SDG 3, which focuses on healthy lives and well-being for all at all ages. However, the leaders posit this will require global cooperation on not just resources, but also on the manufacturing and distribution of the vaccines. Also, it will be beneficial for all countries if there is a managed flow of vaccines to partner countries.

The leaders also stressed their support for global initiatives and international organizations to secure COVID-19 vaccines such as the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility, the World Health Organisation, Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). Lastly, the leaders urged other global leaders to join the effort of ensuring equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines based on the spirit of greater freedom for all.

Op-ed – The Washington Post

On July 14, 2020, the Spanish Council of Ministers approved 2020's annual ‘Progress Report of the 2030 Agenda’.

Drafted by the Ministry of Social Affairs, the report gives an overview of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Spain, outlining several measures adopted by the Spanish government at the domestic level, such as the launch of a new bill law on Climate Change and Energy Transition, but also internationally, which are mostly related to the COVID-19 pandemic response.

Press release – La Moncloa (in Spanish)

On July 9, 2020, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, released a new strategic plan, which aims to foster Spain's national research and development (R&D) architecture and to provide incentives to Spanish-based research initiatives. This 'Plan for Science and Innovation' includes an additional budgetary line of €1.1 billion (US$1.2 billion) in direct grants between 2020 and 2021. 

The plan outlines three pillars of intervention:

1. Supporting health-related R&D with an overall budget of €216 (US$243 million);
2. Strengthening the Spanish R&D system with an overall budget of €524 million (US$590 million); and
3. Promoting innovation within the private sector with an overall budget of €317 million (US$357 million) in grants and €508 million (US$572 million) in loans.

Most of this funding will managed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and its Health Institute Carlos III.

Press release – Ministry of Science and Innovation (in Spanish)

The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation (MAEUEC), Arancha González Laya, presented the 'Spanish cooperation joint response to COVID-19' - a new strategic plan to globally address the COVID-19 crisis. The strategy was presented in a plenary session of the Spanish Cooperation Council which is an official consultative body comprising of development NGOs, think tanks, and government officials. 

The MAEUEC’s new strategy outlines priority measures for Spain to effectively address the pandemic worldwide. These measures are based on four principles: humanitarian assistance, multilateralism, capacity building in partner countries, and support for citizens. The strategy will be further discussed in the following weeks at the Spanish parliament.

Press release – La Moncloa

In a meeting held in Madrid, Spain, on July 8, 2020, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez defined a common strategy on the EU response to COVID-19, ahead of the European Council meeting scheduled for July 17-18, 2020.

Italy and Spain have agreed upon measures including those pertaining to the European Commission’s recovery plan and the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2021-2027. Conte and Sánchez will jointly call for a strong European economic response to COVID-19, focusing primarily on those most affected by the pandemic. 

Press release – La Moncloa (in Spanish)

On July 6, 2020, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met with Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa in Lisbon, Portugal, to discuss the global situation regarding COVID-19 and to jointly define a common position ahead of the upcoming European Council meeting to be held on July 17 and 18, 2020.

The Prime Ministers of both nations discussed working together for strengthening EU institutions and reaching an agreement on the European recovery fund on COVID-19 and the multiannual financial framework (MFF) for the 2021-2027 period.

Press release – La Moncloa (in Spanish)

On July 2, 2020, from 16:00-17:00 (CEST), Donor Tracker will host a second webinar on donor countries’ international COVID-19 responses following the Global Goal Summit. The Summit, held on June 27, raised US$6.9 billion for developing globally accessible COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments.

The Donor Tracker's expert team will analyze the Summit's outcomes and discuss implications for donor countries’ further international responses to the pandemic.

Registration - Zoom