Policy Updates

On June 20, 2024, the EIB approved EUR12.8 billion (US$13.7 billion) in financing to improve sustainable transport, increase the use of renewable energy, build new student housing, improve earthquake and flood protection, and help business expansion.

EUR2.9 billion (US$3.1 billion) will be allocated for urban development, education, health, and water projects. EUR2.1 billion (US$2.2 billion) is slated to support corporate innovation, with a focus on female entrepreneurs in Africa and the Caribbean, as well as business financing in Ukraine.

EIB President Nadia Calviño highlighted that support will go to global and regional flagship projects and that the investments will improve quality of life and reflect the EIB's commitment to strengthen European resilience, productivity growth, and innovation.

On June 20, 2024, Team Europe announced a contribution of more than EUR750 million (US$800 million) to AVMA, spearheaded by Gavi, the African Union, and Africa CDC, at the Global Forum for Vaccine Sovereignty and Innovation.

EUR220 million (US$233 million) will come from the European Commission.

AVMA aims to foster regional vaccine production and vaccine sovereignty on the African continent by procuring more than 800 million doses of African-produced vaccines over ten years. Up to US$1 billion will be earmarked to support sustainable vaccine manufacturing in Africa that contributes to healthy global vaccine markets and improves pandemic and outbreak vaccine supply resilience.

The initiative also seeks to diversify global vaccine suppliers, with the goal of bringing at least four African manufacturers into the market on a sustainable basis.

On June 13, 2024, in her speech at the first-ever G7 session focused on Africa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted the potential of the African continent and the evolution of its relationship with the G7 from one of ODA to that of equal partners.

Von der Leyen highlighted the need to improve the G7's offerings compared to China, Russia, and the Middle East, emphasizing the importance of long-term, sustainable investments that create jobs in Africa. She stressed that the G7 has already demonstrated its commitment to Africa during the pandemic, citing EU support for establishing mRNA vaccine production facilities in Rwanda and Senegal. In addition, von der Leyen noted that the G7 has committed US$250 billion through the PGII, of which US$33 billion has already been delivered to North and Sub-Saharan Africa.

A breakdown of the full amounts and whether the referenced commitments are new or additional funding is not publically available.

On May 31, 2024, the European Commission approved a second allocation of EUR25 million (US$27 million) to the Palestinian Authority, and granted EUR16 million (US$17 million) to UNRWA to provide basic services, such as health and education, to Palestinian refugees.

The funds allocated to the Palestinian Authority, as part of the PEGASE program, is intended to help the Palestinian Authority meet its commitments to pay salaries and pensions to civil servants in the West Bank. The payment is the second tranche of the EUR118 million (US$126 million) development assistance package approved in December 2023.

The European Commission authorized the EUR16 million (US$17 million) to UNRWA after assessing progress towards reform recommendations. The disbursement brings the total EU ODA to UNRWA in 2024 to EUR66 million (US$70 million), out of a total projected EUR82 million (US$88 million) for the year.

On May 29, 2024, the global arm of the EIB committed EUR25 million (US$27 million) to Amethis Fund III, a pan-African fund that supports the growth of medium-sized companies in Africa.

The fund focuses on companies providing goods and services to low and middle-income populations in sectors such as healthcare, business services such as logistics and IT, manufacturing and distribution, agribusiness, consumer goods, non-banking financial services, infrastructure, and energy.

The EIB Global investment aligns with the EU's Global Gateway strategy to promote economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. The fund will implement an impact strategy that addresses issues essential to the sustainable development of the continent, such as gender equality, sustainable employment with an emphasis on health coverage and climate considerations.

On May 23-25, 2024, the G7 Ministers of Finance met at a summit in Stresa, Italy, where the ministers voiced support for contributions to the IDA, WHO, Gavi, and the Global Fund in the resulting communiqué.

The G7 ministers supported efforts towards a successful 21^st replenishment of the IDA by the end of 2024 through an ambitious policy and financing package. Notably, they did not give a concrete signal that the critical US$100 billion threshold requested by the World Bank will be crossed, nor any indication of the US$120 billion expected by African leaders.

The ministers reaffirmed their dedication to strengthening the governance and finance of the global health architecture and voiced support for refinancing processes of several GHIs, such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO, and the Global Fund, and expressed support for the Pandemic Fund. The communiqué called on the donor community to coordinate efforts and increase investments in global health in line with their capacities to ensure sustainable funding and maximize the impact of available resources.

Following the summit, the C7 pointed out the G7's lack of ambition and financial commitment to international development, including climate adaptation. International civil society organizations criticized the lack of any reference to allocating SDRs to global solidarity.

On May 14-15, 2024, the C7 summit was held at the UN FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, organized by the Italian Civil Society Coalition that led, coordinated, and moderated the C7 2024 process.

Approximately 400 global representatives took part in the event, as well as international decision-makers, including FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, Italian G7 sherpa Ambassador Elisabetta Belloni, Cardinal, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Pope’s envoy for the Russian-Ukrainian conflict Matteo Maria Zuppi, and Director of the UN SDG Action Campaign Marina Ponti.

The official C7 communiqué that listed the international civil society recommendation to the G7’s Leaders around seven key issues was released at the event, which included:

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

On May 2, 2024, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU would provide EUR1 billion (US$1.1 billion) to Lebanon from 2024-27.

Von der Leyen made the pledge during a visit to Beirut. The support primarily focuses on health and education, as well as banking and governance reforms.

The pledge comes at a time when EU funding is under scrutiny for its emphasis on curbing migration, specifically as the bloc reallocates funding to EU border control, rather than support for partner countries.

On April 11, 2024, the European Commission and the Belgian Council Presidency hosted the Global Gateway High-Level Event on Education.

Grounded in EU pledges from the 2022 TES, the program prioritized green and digital learning, teaching quality, and finance for education among others. Notably, FLN, one of the key foci of the 2022 TES, did not feature in the agenda.

In addition to high-level meetings and discussions, the event included EUR245 million (US$264 million) several pledges from the EU, including:

• EUR110 million (US$119 million) for implementation of Zambia's National Development Plan and Free Education Initiative, which aim to improve quality of early, primary, and secondary education and increase the attendance and completion rates of girls in school;
• EUR75 million (US$81 million) co-financed by the EU and Team Europe for employment-related skills and vocational training with a focus on women and girls' education in SSA. Specific partner countries were not named;
• EUR15 million (US$16 million) and EUR27 million (US$29 million) were allocated to youth mobility projects with a focus on EU-Africa mobility and intra-African mobility and green skills, respectively; and
• EUR18 million (US$20 million) for building research capacity related to medicines and vaccines in Nigeria.

On March 25, 2024, amid a growing humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Open Canada is criticized the government of Canada for its inaction to address the public health and nutrition crisis, as well as the government’s lack of focus on the African continent as a whole.

The humanitarian crisis in Sudan followed the outbreak of war in April 2023, with 8 million people displaced, roughly half the population (approximately 25 million people) in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, a cholera outbreak, and a widespread famine predicted by June 2024.

Open Canada criticized the government for its passivity in the crisis, with neither Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nor Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly having spoken publicly about Sudan since shortly after the outbreak of war. While Canada evacuated its Sudanese embassy in April 2023, it did not follow other donor countries in maintaining the presence of a senior official in the region to assist in conflict resolution or support key international humanitarian and development organizations. Open Canada also noted that, unlike the EU, UK, and US, Canada has not imposed sanctions on Sudan.

The group also criticized Canada's apathetic approach to the region more broadly. Canada announced a new Foreign Policy Engagement Plan for Africa in 2022, however, the strategy has since been transitioned into a “framework” with the Canadian government yet to release any details of the plan. Open Canada called on the Canadian government to implement a proper engagement strategy in Africa, particularly amid the growing humanitarian, development, and security crisis in Sudan.