Policy Updates

On March 25, 2024, it was announced that the BMZ and AA are providing an additional US$49 million to UNRWA for its work in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank

The BMZ has earmarked US$24 million to aid Palestinian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. Among these funds, US$16 million will be allocated to bolster essential health and educational services for Palestinian refugees in both countries, while an additional US$8 million will support the "Cash for Work" initiative benefiting Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Concurrently, the AA committed US$25 million to provide assistance to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, along with delivering crucial food assistance in the West Bank.

The financial pledges form part of Germany's ongoing commitment to provide regional support to the UNRWA. The German government underscored that decisions regarding the continuation of its support for UNRWA operations in Gaza will be contingent upon the progress of ongoing review and investigation procedures.

On October 18, 2023, Concord released its 2023 AidWatch Report and found that EUR20 billion (US$21.2 billion), or 22% of ODA from the EU and its Member States, was allocated to budget lines that do not directly benefit partner countries.

Concord has published AidWatch Reports annually since 2005 in an effort to provide accountability for the EU and its Member States in meeting the goal of providing 0.7% GNI/ODA.

Examining EU and Member State ODA in 2022, the report found that of the ODA that did not directly benefit partner countries, the three largest categories of "double counted" or "inflated" ODA included:

• EUR13.9 billion (US$14.7 billion) went to in-donor refugee costs to for those fleeing the war in Ukraine, allocations which are at times reported as ODA at the Member State level;
• EUR2.8 billion (US$3 billion) supported imputed student costs, or funding for students from partner countries studying in the donor country; and
• EUR1.7 billion resulting from a method of calculating and reporting ODA loans as grants, which distorted the actual value of the support.

Accounting for inflated ODA, the report found that only two Member States, Luxembourg and Sweden, met the 0.7% ODA/GNI ratio, while Germany's ratio fell to near .69%.

The report noted that these observations comprised the continuation of skewed reporting trends in the EU and Member States. It recommended increasing ODA spending to meet the goal of 0.7% ODA/GNI, not counting in-donor refugee costs as ODA, and reforming ODA reporting to ensure assistance achieves maximum impact, among others.

On August 14, 2023, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze traveled to Mauritania and Nigeria in her first visit to the region since assuming the Sahel Alliance presidency in July 2023.

Schulze will meet with high-level government representatives in Mauritania to discuss their priorities of the Mauritanian G5 Sahel Presidency and support for Sahel Alliance initiatives. Job creation for young people, social security, and food and water security are priorities of Schulze's Sahel Alliance Presidency and of German bilateral cooperation with countries in the Sahel region. Schulze highlighted that economic development and prosperity will help create societal stability and prevent the rise of terrorist groups.

In Nigeria, Schulze will meet with representatives of ECOWAS to discuss how Germany can support ECOWAS' efforts to engineer a peaceful solution to the crisis in neighboring Niger following a military coup in the week of July 24, 2023.

On July 10, 2023, German development minister Svenja Schulze took over the Presidency of the Sahel Alliance from Spain.

Schulze outlined three priorities for her presidency:

1. Creating paths out of the crisis by offering more education, training, and employment;
2. Making societies more resilient through social protection and long-term solutions for food security that go beyond emergency relief; and
3. Recovering areas that the government has lost control over and providing people with basic services.
   
   Schulze emphasized the empowerment of girls and women, who are often main income-earners and can significantly impact regional development.
   
   With over EUR28 billion (US$31 billion) in support for initiatives, the Sahel Alliance is the region's biggest alliance of international supporters.

At the Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, the EU announced several pledges and partnerships to support partner countries in adapting to climate change.

In partnership with France, Germany, the UK, and Canada, the EU launched a new Just Energy Transition Partnership with Senegal. With the help of international development banks and other partners, the group aimed to mobilize EUR2.5 billion (US$2.7 billion) to diversify Senegal's power supply and increase domestic access to renewable energy.

The EU, via the Team Europe initative also provided an additional EUR300 million (US$328 million) to Rwanda's Resilience and Sustainability Facility. Building on existing commitments of US$319 million made through the IMF, the funding included commitments from the EIB, AFD, IDC, and other partners. The funding was allocated to projects to bolster the capacity to author and enact policy changes to respond to climate change.

Additionally, the EIB announced an EUR10 million (US$11 million) loan to Barbados for healthcare resilience. The pledge also included a commitment to improve partnership on WASH, renewable energy, and climate change.

On May 24, 2023, Civil Society 7 released its review of the May 2023 G7 Hiroshima Summit.

The report looked at six topics, including the nuclear disarmament, climate and environmental justice, the transition to a fair economy, global health, humanitarian aid and conflict, and a resilient and open society, and presented the following findings:

• Nuclear Disarmament: The G7 summit did not focus on nuclear disarmament, and its leaders did not show any commitment to starting time-bound negotiations. While condemning Russia’s nuclear threats, they justified their own nuclear weapons as being for defense and deterrence;
• Climate and Environmental Justice: The G7 summit acknowledged the need to strengthen adaptation measures, enhance resilience support for vulnerable groups, and increase support to the most vulnerable countries for avoiding, minimizing, and addressing losses and damages. It emphasized the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, including non-CO2 gases, and reaffirmed commitment to global methane reduction efforts. However, the report argued that the G7’s approach to climate change, in particular its descriptions of fossil fuels, is far from ideal;
• Transition to a Fair Economy: The G7 summit prioritized “economic security” from its perspective rather than focusing on resolving challenges faced by partner countries. It aimed to decouple supply chains from China, but such decoupling could impose additional burdens on developing countries. The summit lacked strong commitments regarding debt restructuring, international negotiations, and debt cancellation. It also weakened the organization's stance on business and human rights;
• Global Health: The G7 summit fell short of expectations due to time constraints and limitations imposed by Japan. It failed to address intellectual property rights as a key factor in addressing the pandemic and ensuring equitable access to therapeutics. The summit lacked specific commitments, and its focus was more on ordering and reaffirming previous pledges rather than providing the required funding and technological contributions;
• Humanitarian Aid and Conflict: The G7 summit's commitment of US$21 billion in support, with particular focus on addressing food crises and prioritizing education, was welcomed. However, apart from this financial commitment, the summit lacked clear and concrete commitments. It failed to mention the importance of strengthening local leadership and access to humanitarian aid and protection; and
• Resilient and Open Society: The G7 summit did not address the concept of an open society or democracy in its statements. It neglected to discuss civic space and shrinking civil society, and its focus on democracy mainly revolved around countering information warfare. The summit did not address issues like digital space safety, fake news, freedom of expression, or topics covered in previous G7 meetings. The treatment of non-regular immigrants and their dire situations was a significant problem. The summit lacked references to freedom of expression and did not improve citizen participation or support for civil society organizations.

C7 aims to achieve a society envisioned by the SDGs that leaves no one behind, and its criticism of the G7 Hiroshima Summit was presented as a means of holding leaders to account for their role in building a better world.

On May 3, 2023, the German cabinet approved a last extension of the MINUSMA mission in Mali in the Sahel region.

The mission's extension prioritized increased civil support including stabilization measures, addressing the causes of crises, and providing humanitarian support, in the Sahel region and west African costal countries, including Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

In accord with the BMZ's Sahel-Plus Initiative, the extension focused on the creation of jobs and vocational training opportunities, especially countermeasures to address recruiting strategies of extremist groups in the region. In addition, the extension aimed to strengthen social security systems to improve the population's resilience against crises, including the climate crisis.

Germany will continue to provide military support for some countries in the region, e.g., Niger. Under the guiding principle of "African Ownership," Germany aims to increase African ownership of security and stability matters in the region. In addition, Development minister Svenja Schulze announced plans to run for the chair of the Sahel Alliance, the coordinating body of the 18 most important donor states and organizations, this summer.

The BMZ and the Education Alliance, an initiative by the German Federal Association of Medium-Sized Business that advocates for German education policy, agreed on a program that focuses on improving education and vocational training for girls and women in African countries in mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology.

Under the program, German companies and institutions will cooperate with companies and institutions in countries in Africa to provide education and vocational traning opportunities for women and girls, for example, through digital learning platforms. The initiative intends to increase women and girls' fair access to the labor market and ability to start their own businesses. In addition, the German Federal Association of Medium-Sized Business hopes that German businesses that have plants and locations in African countries will benefit from vocational traning in the medium term.

On February 7, 2023, European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen launched a €200 million (US$217 million) Team Europe Initiative on Green Recovery in Nepal.

The initiative is supported in partnership with Germany, Finland, and France under the EU’s Global Gateway strategy. Specifically, the partnership will receive €142 million (US$154 million) from the EU budget and more than €60 million (US$65 million) from Finland, France, and Germany.

The initiative will fund green growth in Nepal by supporting small shareholder farmers and the agro-forestry sector. It will also support increasing access to energy, water, sanitation, nutrition services, and education. Additionally, the program aims to increase women’s participation in leadership and the economy.

On January 23, 2023, Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze announced that Germany, together with Switzerland, Norway, Columbia, Niger, and South Sudan will co-host an international education conference in Geneva on February 16-17, 2023.

The conference’s goal is to raise pledges for the UN ECW fund.

In September 2022, ECW launched its 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, calling on donors to provide at least US$1.5 billion in financing. The raised funds will support initiatives to improve access to education for around 222 million children and adolescents in conflict regions.

As of January 2023, Germany is the largest donor to ECW, with contributions totaling US$369 million.