Policy Updates

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.

On August 29, 2024, amidst a domestic political crisis due to mass migration to the Canary Islands, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez traveled to Western Africa to meet with heads of state from Mauritania, The Gambia, and Senegal to discuss sustainable development, security, and irregular migration.

Sánchez announced the launch of the new African Progress Alliance, a joint initiative between Spain and Senegal aimed at fostering private investments to support sustainable development and strengthen economic opportunities for the youth in Western Africa.

In addition, AECID approved the new Country Partnership Framework with Senegal in June 2024, to disburse up to EUR180 million (US$193 million) in ODA in the country between 2024-2028.

On July 24, 2024, the cabinet of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez approved the Master Plan for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity 2024-2027 to set strategic priorities for Spain’s development cooperation.

In coordination with the Spanish Law for Sustainable Development Cooperation and Global Solidarity, approved in February 2023, the new Master Plan includes the objective of increasing Spain’s ODA/GNI to 0.7% by 2030. The Master Plan sets different ODA growth estimates for the period between 2024 and 2030. In 2027, for the lowest scenario, Spain’s ODA/GNI would reach 0.40%, and for the highest scenario ODA/GNI would reach 0.55%.

Spain outlined focus on three different development areas:

• Social transition, including democratic governance, global health and health systems, food security and nutrition, quality education, gender equality and women empowerment, culture and development;
• Ecological transition, including climate adaptation and mitigation, clean energies, biodiversity, water, and sanitation; and
• Economic transition, including rural development, inclusive economic development, digitalization.

Geographically, priority regions for Spain’s development cooperation include SSA, in particular the Sahel regions and Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, North Africa and Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

On June 20, 2024, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron attended the Gavi Investment Opportunity and AVMA launch in Paris, France, and pledged to reallocate GBP49 million (US$58 million) to Gavi’s newly launched AVMA through reallocated COVID-19 funding already committed to Gavi.

Co-hosted by Gavi, the African Union, and France, the event saw Gavi lay out its investment case for 2026 and 2030 and call for US$9 billion in new donor funding.

The UK did not make an early pledge to Gavi’s new replenishment, unlike the US, France, Spain, and some philanthropic providers, which committed a total of US$2.4 billion. Gavi is set to engage in an intense period of fundraising with a view to hosting a final pledging event in 7 to 12 months.

Since the creation of Gavi, the UK has invested GBP5.5 billion (US$7 billion) in the organization, helping to vaccinate over a billion children and save millions of lives.

The UK did not provide an early pledge to Gavi's 2026-2030 replenishment.

On June 13, 2024, at the Global Leaders Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, the Spanish State Secretary for International Cooperation Eva Granados announced a special pledge of EUR1.5 million (US$1.6 million) to UNCTAD.

Spain’s development leadership participated in this high-level event, which commemorated the 60^th anniversary of UNCTAD, together with other development ministries and world leaders.

Granados underlined the importance of strengthening the global governance for sustainable development. She also made the case for the critical role of the private sector, trade and innovative financial sources to advance towards the 2030 Agenda.

The Spanish new pledge will be channeled to UNCTAD’s Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy, and Finance.

On May 31, 2024, the Spanish Minister of Economy, Trade and Business Carlos Cuerpo announced that Spain will step up the impact of SDRs through the IMF and the World Bank Group, increasing its SDR allocations for the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust by US$1.5 billion.

The contribution is aimed at fostering climate policies in low- and middle-income partner countries. It marked an important signal in support to the Bretton Woods institutions.

Cuerpo encouraged other countries to support financial institutions and make additional pledges to Resilience and Sustainability Trust, as well as to the IDA's 21^st replenishment.

On May 20, 2024, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation José Manuel Albares presented a new development cooperation program, titled Masar Al’an (‘Masar Now’) at an official event held in Madrid.

The Spanish foreign ministry and AECID seek to strengthen sustainable development in the MENA region. It encompasses an initial budgetary envelope of EUR4 million (US$4 million) in 2024, aimed at strengthening socio-economic opportunities for youth and women, promoting gender equality, protecting biodiversity, and fostering climate change adaptation in sectors such as rural development and fisheries.

AECID will work in collaboration with UN agencies as well as EUI, including the Union for the Mediterranean and the European Institute for the Mediterranean.

On April 25, 2024, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze and the development ministers of Brazil, South Africa, and Spain called for taxing billionaire wealth during the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, addressing key issues like decarbonization and fiscal constraints.

During the Spring Meetings, discussions centered on pressing issues including advancing decarbonization efforts, combating climate change, and addressing fiscal constraints for heavily indebted countries to invest in poverty alleviation, social services, and global public goods.

On April 16, 2024, the Spanish cabinet approved a new voluntary contribution of EUR2 million (US$2 million) to the Organization of American States, aimed at strengthening human rights and democratic institutions in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.

Director of AECID Antón Leis made the announcement during a visit to the organization's headquarters in Washington DC. Leis underlined the importance of the partnership between Spain and the Organization of American States, particularly with regards to the AECID’s Programa Democracia, which is focused on improving political representation, protecting human rights, and fostering political and social dialogue in partner countries.

AECID's contribution was EUR 2 million (US$2 million) in 2023.

On March 27, 2024, the MAECE announced that 26 tons of food supplies were successfully delivered to Palestinian population in the Gaza strip.

The joint humanitarian operation was coordinated between the Spanish ministries of foreign affairs and defense and co-funded by the EU, and aimed at shore up food security for people individuals by the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

From 2022-23, Spain tripled its ODA to Palestine. In 2023, Spain provided the Palestinian population with up to EUR50 million (US$54 million) and, from this amount, EUR20 million (US$21 million) were channeled through the UNRWA. In 2024, Spain has contributed with EUR24 million (US$25 million) to UNRWA.