Development Minister Caroline Gennez (Vooruit/S&D) set up a two-year financial framework that includes new priorities, notably focusing on ‘forgotten crises’ – a crisis in which humanitarian needs are high yet international support is insufficient.
In an interview with De Morgen published on Monday, the minister insisted on focusing on such matters. She said that recently, Europe’s attention “has obviously – and rightfully – been directed towards Ukraine, but there are many more people in need of help worldwide.”
According to her, this phenomenon is directly linked to the lack of political commitment and media coverage, Belga reported.
In the new financial framework, which sets up the geographical focus and budgetary priorities for 2023-2024, the Sahel region, the Great Lake countries, the occupied Palestinian territories, and Yemen will be at the centre of attention. The protection of children and women will be at the heart of the programme, given that they are “extremely vulnerable in conflict and disaster situations”.
The two-year framework, which has a budget of €53 million for NGO humanitarian programmes, has been agreed by the minister and several organisations such as Oxfam, Caritas, Red Cross Vlaanderen and Médecins du Monde. NGOs have until the end of August to submit their programme proposals.
In the current government’s agreement, the executive committed to increasing international cooperation expenses from 2021 to reach the international target set by the UN of 0.7% of the gross national income (GNI) by 2030.
In 2022, Belgian international aid reached an all-time high, NGO CNCD 11.11.11 underlined last April. However, this increase was mostly due to aid to Ukraine and the protection given to people fleeing the conflict caused by Russia, while aid to Africa decreased.
Moreover, “although [Belgian development aid] now stands at 0.45% of Belgium’s GNI, it remains below the European average (0.57%) and a long way from the international target of 0.7% […]. Yet this target is more important than ever, given the current international context, as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have heightened global instability, hunger and extreme poverty, wiping out decades of development progress in the countries of the South, particularly among the poorest and most vulnerable,” the NGO wrote.
“It is, of course much appreciated that donor countries have allocated significant resources to help Ukraine and to support refugees fleeing the war there, but it should not be at the expense of the world’s poorest countries, which continue to require much more funding to achieve their development goals,” it added.
Some EU countries already reached and even surpassed the international target, such as Germany (0.8% of its GNI), Sweden (0.9%) or Luxembourg (1%).
(Anne-Sophie Gayet & Nina Chabot | EURACTIV.com)
Read more with EURACTIV
French businesses: EU generates as much frustration as hope
Source: euractiv.com
