Policy Updates

On September 21, 2025, the IOM announced the launch of a two-year, SEK100 million (US$11 million) project funded by Sweden to support the sustainable reintegration of returning populations in Syria's Aleppo Governorate.

The project, funded by Sida, will focus on strengthening conditions for safe returns and supporting durable solutions to displacement. The initiative addresses the persistent vulnerabilities faced by returnees, including IDPs and Syrians returning from abroad, such as limited access to livelihoods and housing.

IOM’s Acting Chief of Mission in Syria Eleonora Servino highlighted the project as a critical step in finding durable solutions for displacement. Swedish Chargé d´Affaires to Syria, Jessica Svärdström, noted that the support complements Sweden's long-standing humanitarian assistance to Syria.

Project activities will include shelter rehabilitation, rental assistance, legal support for housing, land, and property rights, and MHPSS. The project will also promote social cohesion and use data from IOM's DTM to guide its interventions.

The project launch follows the return of approximately 2.1 million Syrians to their home areas since December 2024 and the formal approval for IOM to re-establish its presence in Damascus in August 2025.

On September 19, 2025, the JICA distributed its first installment of a US$61 million loan agreement with Masdar IPH Wind S.A.E for a 200MW wind farm in Ras Ghareb, Egypt.

The project aims to increase the renewable electricity supply in Egypt and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The financing is co-financed with the EBRD, PROPARCO, and the GCF.

The project includes the construction and operation of the wind farm, as well as transmission lines and substation facilities. The borrower, Masdar IPH Wind S.A.E, has a PPA with the EETC for the full purchase of the electricity generated, guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance of Egypt.

On September 19, 2025, the UN treaty to protect the high seas reached its required 60-ratification threshold after Morocco and Sierra Leone formally joined, clearing the way for its entry into force in January 2026.

The BBNJ agreement was adopted in June 2023. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the ratification a historic achievement. UN Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen also welcomed the development.

The agreement establishes legally binding rules to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity in the two-thirds of the ocean beyond national boundaries. The framework aims to create marine protected areas, ensure fair sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources, and strengthen scientific cooperation. Its entry into force on January 17, 2026, will support the GBF pledge to protect 30% of sea areas by 2030. Guterres urged all remaining Member States to join the treaty.

On September 18, 2025, the German Bundestag approved the 2025 federal budget, which included an 8% cut of EUR910 million (US$1.1 billion) to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and a 47% cut of EUR1.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) to humanitarian assistance, prompting warnings of drastic consequences from ODA agencies.

The new federal budget totals EUR502.5 billion (US$588.9 billion), with priorities set on social and defense spending. Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan stated that in view of increasing crises, Germany is investing far less in international cooperation. Despite the government's stated commitment to multilateralism, multilateral cooperation was disproportionately affected.

Key changes to development, humanitarian, and health funding include:

• A cut of EUR910 million (US$1.1 billion) to the BMZ, an 8% decrease from 2024;
• A cut of EUR1.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) to humanitarian assistance, a 47% decrease from 2024;
• A cut of EUR296 million (US$345 million) to multilateral cooperation, a 13% decrease from 2024;
• A 19% reduction in contributions to the GPEI to EUR30 million (US$35 million);
• A 20% reduction in contributions to the World Bank, amounting to a EUR201 million (US$236 million) cut;
• A 15% increase to the Ministry of Health’s budget compared to 2024; and
• A 4% increase to the BMFTR budget, which funds global health R&D.

ODA organizations warned that the consequences would be drastic. Thorsten Klose-Zuber, Secretary General of the NGO Help, stated the cuts could result in over four million people losing food assistance and 1.5 million people losing basic health care. While Minister Alabali Radovan acknowledged the impact, she sought to distance the German government's actions from the larger-scale aid reductions made by the former US administration under Donald Trump, highlighting the destabilizing effects those cuts had in places like Kenya.

The budget sparked considerable debate in the Bundestag. Jamila Schäfer of the Green Party called the cuts irresponsible. In contrast, Inge Grässle of the CDU argued that good results could still be achieved with the new funding levels. The far-right AfD party had argued for even more severe cuts, with lawmaker Mirco Hanker arguing that development spending was a 'waste of taxpayers' money.

Long-term financial planning suggests further reductions for the BMZ, with its budget projected to decline to EUR9.3 billion (US$10.9 billion) by 2029.

On September 18, 2025, the Verata Nursing Station in Fiji officially reopened following major climate-resilient renovations and the installation of solar power, funded by the KOICA.

The upgrades were completed under the multi-year SHAPE, which is implemented in partnership with the WHO and the MHMS. The project aims to ensure Fiji's health system can keep people safe amid growing climate-related threats such as stronger storms and floods.

Minister for MHMS Hon. Dr Ratu Atonio Rabici Lalabalavu, WHO Representative Dr Mark Jacobs, and KOICA Fiji Country Director Ms Hankyulsam Cho all highlighted the importance of the collaboration in building stronger, safer, and more resilient health services for the people of Fiji.

The broader SHAPE has also strengthened five other health facilities, installed solar power in 18 facilities, trained over 600 health workers, and improved disease surveillance and community adaptation to climate change impacts.

On September 18, 2025, the US Department of State, under the leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, released its America First Global Health Strategy, a comprehensive plan to align US global health programs with American national interests, security, and prosperity.

While the plan reaffirms commitment to goals for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB, the strategy marks a significant pivot from previous administrations, failing to mention previous administration and historically bipartisan priorities, including maternal and child health, routine immunizations, nutrition, and family planning. The document frames global health as a tool to counter Chinese influence, particularly in Africa.

The strategy is built on three pillars:

• "Making America safer" by improving disease surveillance and outbreak response;
• "Making America stronger" by shifting to bilateral agreements with partner countries; and
• "Making America more prosperous" by protecting the US economy from pandemics and promoting American health products.

The plan outlines a move away from NGO-led program delivery toward direct, multi-year bilateral agreements with recipient governments. The agreements will require co-investment from partner countries and will be tied to performance benchmarks. The US administration aims to finalize the deals with the 87 countries that received US health funding in FY2023 by the end of 2025, which is a timeline seen as highly challenging by global health experts, particularly in light of severe cuts to government global health staff.

The strategy justifies the shift by targeting “inefficient and wasteful” spending, asserting that 60% of current funding goes to overhead and program management rather than frontline services.

Critics raised concerns that the new model poses significant challenges, highlighting that a purely bilateral approach is seen as insufficient to tackle transnational threats, which require the broad, multilateral cooperation offered by institutions like the WHO. Another point of concern highlighted by health experts is the reduced funding for program management and technical assistance, which could weaken the detailed data collection and reporting that have historically allowed for close congressional oversight.

On September 15, 2025, a UN Women report revealed that progress on women's rights is stagnating and regressing due to conflict, aid cuts, and a backlash against gender equality, and called on governments at the UN General Assembly in New York to commit to renewed action, highlighting that the US$420 billion needed annually to advance gender equality is a fraction of the US$2.7 trillion spent on the military.

The report, a gender snapshot monitoring progress on the SDGs, found that 676 million women and girls lived near deadly conflict in 2024, the highest number since the 1990s. Women are also more likely to be affected by rising food insecurity. The report projects that climate change could push an additional 158.3 million women and girls into extreme poverty by 2050.

Director of UN Women’s policy division, Sarah Hendriks, contrasted the US$2.7 trillion in annual military spending with the estimated US$420 billion needed to advance gender equality. The report also noted a digital gender divide, which if addressed, could lift 30 million women and girls out of poverty by 2050 and generate a US$1.5 trillion increase in global GDP by 2030. UN Women is calling for renewed commitments at the UN General Assembly, 30 years after the Beijing Declaration.

On September 12, 2025, Fitch Ratings downgraded France's credit score from "AA-" to "A+", citing political instability and projections that public debt will rise to 121% of GDP by 2027, increasing pressure on French President Emmanuel Macron and new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

The downgrade followed a period of political turmoil, including the ousting of former Prime Minister François Bayrou after his unpopular budget plan was rejected. Fitch stated that the instability had weakened France's ability to implement fiscal consolidation. The agency projected that the public deficit would not fall below 3% of GDP by 2029 as the previous government had hoped.

Fitch warned that rising public debt constrains the country's capacity to respond to new shocks. The agency expressed skepticism that the political impasse would be resolved before the 2027 presidential election, which would further limit opportunities for fiscal consolidation.

In response, Minister of Economics and Finance Eric Lombard acknowledged the decision while emphasizing the French economy's solidity. Economists noted that while France has a diversified economy and strong household savings, it is critical to break the political paralysis to pass a budget that reduces the deficit.

On September 11, 2025, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee introduced two major pieces of legislation: the DFC Modernization Act of 2025, which proposes to increase the US DFC's lending cap to US$250 billion, and a series of bills aimed at reforming the US State Department.

The DFC Modernization Act, which closely resembles a proposal from the Trump administration, would increase the DFC's total lending cap from US$60 billion to US$250 billion. The bill would also allow the agency to invest in HICs for the first time, establish a revolving fund for equity investments, and raise the threshold for congressional notification of investments from US$10 million to US$100 million.

The second set of bills seeks to reform the US State Department by codifying changes made under US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The proposals include the creation of an undersecretary for foreign assistance and a 'global health compact' model designed to shift funding responsibilities to partner countries, which would include a phase-out of PEPFAR funding. The legislation also suggests tying foreign assistance to a country's alignment with US policy positions.

Former OPIC CEO Robert Mosbacher Jr. expressed concern about linking the DFC bill to the more contentious State Department authorization. A short-term extension for the DFC may be necessary to allow more time for negotiation.

On September 11, 2025, JICA and the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco signed a Record of Discussions in Rabat for a technical cooperation project to secure water resources through comprehensive sediment management.

The 48-month project focuses on creating a comprehensive sediment management plan for the Moulouya and Sebou River Basins. A key objective is the capacity development of all stakeholders, including local communities, to ensure effective planning and implementation of the management plan.

The agreement was signed by General Director Zerouali Abdelaziz of Morocco's Directorate General of Hydraulics and Chief Representative Tomoyuki Kawabata of the JICA Morocco Office. The project, implemented by the Directorate of Water Research and Planning, contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean water and sanitation) and Goal 13 (Climate action).