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October 11, 2024 | UK, France, Japan, Canada, US, Germany, Italy, EUI, Nutritious Food Systems, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, Family Planning, WASH & Sanitation, Global Health, Global Health R&D | Share this update
On October 10 and 11, 2024, the G7's Health Ministerial Meeting took place in Ancona, Italy. The discussion focused on three overarching priorities: Global Health Architecture and Pandemic Preparedness and Response, healthy and active aging, and the One Health Approach.
The G7 Health Ministers Communiqué, released at the end of the meeting, highlights the G7's commitment to supporting SDG #3 through universal health coverage, primary health care, and sexual and reproductive health. This also includes maternal, neonatal, child, and adolescent health, strengthening the global health architecture by investing in PPR, promoting regional manufacturing of health products, and equitable access to quality health services.
The communiqué emphasized the health-related impacts of conflicts with a reference to the crises in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, and Sudan. Furthermore, in the communiqué, the G7 Ministries committed to continue to support Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund, whose replenishment processes will occur in the upcoming months.
The Civil 7 engagement group, a platform through which civil society can engage with the G7, reacted with a communiqué in which they expressed an appreciation for the re-commitment to ending HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria through robust support for the Global Fund in its replenishment next year. This support is crucial to ending the three epidemics as agreed upon in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Finally, the G7 Health Ministers also adopted a policy brief on the opportunities presented by AI for both healthcare providers and patients.
September 26, 2024 | Germany | Share this update
On September 26, 2024, the AA published its new Strategy on Humanitarian Aid Abroad, which was published in the context of severe cuts to humanitarian funding in the draft budget for 2025, with humanitarian assistance cut by almost 50%.
The new strategy put forth three high-level priorities:
The strategy referenced several targets, including some that have been set out in other strategic documents. This includes the target to achieve 100% of funding for gender-sensitive projects, 25% of funding for international NGOs, 25% of funding channeled through at most one intermediary to increase the role of local partners, and 30% of funding that can be allocated flexibly.
In the context of the severe cuts to ODA, the strategy puts strong emphasis on the efficiency of funding, ensuring that the funds prioritize the greatest needs based on assessment and compatibility with other funders.
September 19, 2024 | Germany | Share this update
On September 11, 2024, German parliamentary negotiations of the federal budget for 2025 began, which saw plenary debates on the budget of the AA and BMZ include criticism of cuts to ODA and humanitarian assistance.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock claimed that the budget is not sufficient to address the multitude of global crises. Development Minister Svenja Schulze of the SPD criticized cuts and highlighted that with the allocated budget, the BMZ would not be equipped to respond to unforeseen crises.
Parliamentarians from the main opposition party CDU/CSU, as well as from the coalition parties SPD and Greens, voiced their criticism of the disproportionate cuts to the budget of the BMZ and AA. In particular, they reprimanded cuts to humanitarian assistance and global health funding, including funding for multilaterals such as Gavi, Global Fund, UNFPA and WFP.
In addition to stressing German international responsibility, parliamentarians from different political groups referred to domestic, economic, and security arguments to make the case for additional funding for development and humanitarian assistance.
In the draft budget for 2025, the budget of the AA is planned to be cut by EUR836 million (US$925 million), or 12%, including a decrease in funding for humanitarian assistance of 47%. The budget of the BMZ is reduced by EUR937 million (US$1 billion), or 8%.
September 10, 2024 | EUI, France, Spain, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Global Health | Share this update
On September 10, 2024, the European Commission’s HERA facilitated the delivery of nearly 100,000 mpox vaccine doses to the DRC, marking the first shipment of its kind to the country.
An additional 100,000 doses are expected soon, contributing to the total of 215,000 vaccines pledged to combat the mpox outbreak in Africa. Team Europe will donate a total of 566,500 mpox vaccine doses to affected African countries, with contributions from France, Germany, Spain, Malta, Portugal, Luxembourg, Croatia, Austria, and Poland.
The EC also released EUR1 million (US$1 million) in humanitarian assistance to support care, prevention, epidemiological surveillance, risk communication and distribution of kits in the DRC.
August 21, 2024 | UK, Germany | Share this update
On August 21, 2024, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze and German CSOs criticized the recent FPD proposal to abolish the BMZ and merge it with the AA.
Schulze noted she was not worried that the BMZ would be undermined and stressed the importance of continuing to represent German interests at the international level.
Other politicians also objected to the proposal, including the CDU/CSU parliamentary group's spokesperson for development Volker Klein, who emphasized that development policy needs to be represented at the cabinet table.
Observers of the British fusion of the development ministry with the foreign office pointed to negative consequences as a result of the measure, including a weaker British development policy and reduced British influence abroad.
The FPD proposal has not gained much traction politically. However, it came at a critical moment during renewed budgetary conflicts between the coalition partners.
August 16, 2024 | Germany | Share this update
On August 16, 2024, after a new round of budgetary conflict, the German government reached an agreement on a final budget draft for 2025, with BMZ and AA funding remaining unchanged despite calls for additional cuts to development funding.
The budget specified details on budgetary lines for international organizations. Organizations that are impacted by significant cuts include the GPEI, whose funding was cut by 45.9% to EUR20 million (US$18 million) in 2025, UNFPA, whose funding was cut by 17.6% to EUR30 million (US$27 million), and UNICEF, whose funding was reduced by 8.3% to EUR55 million (US$50 million). Funding for other organizations remained stable or decreased moderately.
The budget set out the planned German contribution to the 21st replenishment of IDA. The government committed EUR1.6 billion (US$1.4 billion), matching the government's pledge to the previous funding round.
July 22, 2024 | Germany, Global Health | Share this update
On July 22, 2024, the World AIDS Conference, hosted in Munich, kicked off with a call to reinforce the fight against HIV/AIDS and protect vulnerable groups from discrimination.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated the goal to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030. He announced that Germany will join the UNAIDS Global Partnership for Action to Eliminate all Forms of HIV-related Stigma and Discrimination. Scholz further noted that Germany is contributing EUR1.3 billion to the Global Fund from 2023 to 2025 and stressed that Germany will continue its support for the Global Fund, as well as for UNAIDS and WHO.
Germany has introduced significant cuts to development in its 2025 draft budget. The German contribution to the Global Fund for its upcoming replenishment and funding cycle remains uncertain.
July 18, 2024 | Germany | Share this update
On July 22, 2024, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze attended the meeting of the G20 development ministers in Brazil, reiterated criticism of cuts to the BMZ budget, and advocated for a tax on the super-rich.
The draft budget for 2025 foresees cuts of the BMZ budget from EUR11.2 billion (US$12.2 billion) to EUR10.3 billion (US$11.2 billion). During her six-day stay in Brazil, Schulze focused on global inequality and forest protection and emphasized that the BMZ cuts will limit Germany's ability to respond to crises and risk further cementing global inequity. She also supported Brazil's proposal for a tax on billionaires.
Other voices from the coalition parties, as well as from CSOs like the ONE Campaign, have already called for the renegotiation of parts of the 2025 budget proposal, including the budget for humanitarian assistance and development cooperation. They countered recent criticism of development assistance, highlighting recent successes of development cooperation and its importance for geopolitical objectives and Germany's international positions.
July 17, 2024 | Germany | Share this update
On July 17, 2024, the German coalition government approved the draft budget for the 2025 federal budget, with ODA-relevant ministries facing EUR19.8 billion (US$21.5 billion) in cuts in 2025.
The budget of the BMZ was reduced by EUR937 million (US$1 billion) and the budget of the AA by EUR836 million (US$907 million).
The coalition reached a political agreement on July 3, 2024, after months of intense negotiations. While Finance Minister Christian Lindner ( FDP) insisted on adhering to the constitutional debt brake, ministers of the SPD and Greens fought to avoid cuts to their budgets. The final budget compromise adheres to the debt brake, while avoiding drastic cuts.
The total budget amounts to EUR480.6 billion (US$521.2 billion). The overall German budget was cut by 2% compared to the 2024 budget, below the previously estimated budget shortfall. Ministries affected by the cuts include the BMZ, AA, and BMWK. Additional cuts were achieved through largely technical solutions. A 'global expenditure reduction' of EUR17 billion (US$18.4 billion) still needs to be addressed.
The budget is set to be approved by Parliament in November 2024. Intense debates are expected, as budget allocations for topics such as defense and development cooperation are considered insufficient by many parliamentarians.
July 16, 2024 | Germany | Share this update
On July 15 and 16, 2024, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock travelled to Senegal and Ivory Coast while Development Minister Svenja Schulze welcomed members of the Sahel Alliance in Berlin.
Following the planned withdrawal of German troops from Niger, the German government has noted its plans to reorient and intensify its engagement in West Africa and the Sahel.
Baerbock criticized previous German policy towards the Sahel and emphasized the need to focus on cooperation with democratic countries, such as Senegal. Accompanied by a trade delegation, she also expressed the desire to strengthen economic cooperation.
Schulze and members of the Sahel Alliance gathered for the alliance's 5th General Assembly in Berlin. Bringing together representatives of 30 countries, the assembly aimed to strengthen employment and prospects in the region through investment and development cooperation.
US$ amounts are cited directly from sources; in the absence of an official conversion, they are calculated using the previous week's average of the US Federal Reserve's daily exchange rates.
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