New Gavi strategy targets children receiving no vaccines

In spite billions of dollars invested over 20 years by Gavi in vaccines for the poorest countries, immunisation coverage has stagnated, and millions have been left behind. In its new five-year strategy, Gavi will now focus on children who receive no vaccines at all. For the first time, Gavi is also considering supporting middle-income countries that have fallen behind in immunisation.

Norway defends billion-dollar Amazon Fund as Brazilian minister threatens to exit

In response to reports that Brazil’s Environment Minister Ricardo Salles is considering closing down the Amazon Fund, the centre piece of Norwegian climate forest partnership with Brazil, Norway’s Climate Minister Ola Elvestuen has issued a press release in defence of the fund and the partnership.

Breakthrough in Norway-Guyana forest deal after eight-year delay

Norwegian aid funds amounting to NOK 600 million, which have been languishing at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), may soon be released to pay for a 30-40 megawatt solar energy project in Guyana. This will be Norway’s first payment to Guyana since 2011, as part of a climate forest agreement signed ten years ago. The long delay could cost Guyana over USD 25 million due to the weakened Norwegian currency.

Rasmus Prehn is Denmark’s new Development Minister

Mette Fredriksen, the youngest-ever Prime Minister in Danish history, has announced her cabinet and selected Rasmus Prehn (Social Democrat) to be her Minister for Development Cooperation. The new Danish government will strengthen “green diplomacy” and develop a new development strategy with a focus on climate.

Western NGOs ‘must downsize’ to let local actors play a bigger humanitarian role

Three years after Western emergency relief organisations agreed that Southern actors receive too small a share of humanitarian funding compared with the formidable work they do, the distribution remains badly skewed. Progress is slow, partly because changing the balance will mean that Western organisations must downsize.

Report to Sida: share corruption risk with NGOs, nuance zero-tolerance messaging

A scrutiny of Sida’s risk management shows that the agency has more appetite for risk in fragile states but remains protective of its own reputation. The elephant in the room is corruption.

Sida to triple multi-year funding for non-Swedish democracy NGOs

Non-Swedish NGOs working om democracy issues can look forward to a substantial increase in long-term funding from the Swedish aid agency Sida. New recipients of multi-year grants will be selected among organisations Sida already knows, and there will be no open call for proposals. In Finland, competition is the general rule.

OECD praises Sweden’s aid, warns of too many partners and overstretched staff

The OECD calls Sweden an “adept, ambitious and influential” donor, a champion of multilateralism that is generous with the amounts of aid it gives and effective and principled when it comes to humanitarian aid. Sweden does fall short in some areas, however. Swedfund is not integrated into the broader portfolio, Swedish aid is still spread too thinly, and the aid administration is understaffed.

Helsinki has no plans to use emissions trading income to boost Finnish aid

There is “huge disappointment” in Finland about the decision not to transfer income from emissions trading to the development budget as a way of boosting the aid level. The new government programme contains no concrete timetable for increasing aid to the UN-recommended target of 0.7 per cent of GNI.

New Finnish government steps up aid, but at a slow pace

Finland’s new centre-left government promises to add EUR 500 million to the development cooperation budget over the coming four years with increases in financing for humanitarian aid, UN agencies and NGOs, and a renewed focus on rights and fighting climate change. The new government will hammer out a new Africa strategy and make the region the focus of Finnish aid.

OECD to Norway: be more pragmatic when fighting corruption in aid

An OECD review recognises Norway’s multilateral efforts but warns that too many new global health instruments could undermine the UN and contribute to fragmentation. It also calls for a more “pragmatic and proportionate approach” to corruption, especially in fragile states. (To be updated)

Sida opens SEK 1.9b NGO pie for competition

Sida is opening a funding pot worth SEK 1.9 billion to new Swedish NGOs. For almost a decade 15 organisations have had exclusive access to these multi-year grants. Joining this group can be highly lucrative and can mean hundreds of millions of crowns in stable, long-term financing. Access to this money for “new” organisations has only been opened a few times over the past 20 years, and each time it has, the competition has been fierce.

Denmark aims to be a ‘green pioneer,’ but falls short as donor to Green Climate Fund

While Sweden, Norway and Finland have been among the top donors to the Green Climate Fund, Denmark is far behind. In the upcoming replenishment of the fund, Denmark must increase its funding three-fold to cover its minimum fair share, according to an overview by Oxfam.

Pledges to put Africa first and to stand firm against special interests

Dag-Inge Ulstein, Norway’s freshman Development Minister, wants to reverse a decade-long downward trend by increasing Norwegian aid to Africa. To succeed, he will have to say ‘no’ to other priorities.

Government talks are litmus test for scaling up of Finnish aid

Finland’s Development Policy Committee, representing all the political parties, calls for an urgent long-term pledge to raise aid to 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI). The first test for the plan will be the on-going talks to form a new Finnish government in the wake of the election.

Reliance on private capital makes IFU shy away from investments in poorest countries

Due to its heavy reliance on private capital, the Danish aid-financed investment fund (IFU) has shied away from risky investments and prioritised middle-income countries. The first evaluation of IFU in 14 years calls for a stronger focus on poor and fragile states.

Billions in Swedish aid at stake as political strife clouds new OECD refugee reporting

As Sweden adopts the new OECD rules for reporting domestic refugee costs as official development assistance (ODA), a struggle within the Swedish government has broken out over how to fill gaps in the fiscal budget. Development Minister Peter Eriksson lost the first battle. Billions of crowns in future aid might be at stake as Sweden adopts new reporting rules for aid.

Indian-made pneumonia vaccine is set to break Big Pharma’s hold on Gavi funds

By the end of the year, a new pneumonia vaccine produced by Serum Institute of India is set to enter the market at a much lower price than Gavi currently pays. Key vaccine actors call this a “game changer” that could reduce prices and save children’s lives.

Finnish aid loans to IFC-funded climate projects in Nepal and Senegal

Finland is contributing USD 20 million in aid-financed loans to climate projects in Nepal and Senegal as part of a blended finance mechanism managed by the World Bank’s private sector arm, IFC.

Funding target for Green Climate Fund still up in the air

There is still no clear picture about a realistic funding target for the upcoming replenishment of the Green Climate Fund. The most optimistic scenario from the World Resources Institute of USD 66 billion assumes that all countries, including the United States, follow Norway’s lead. A more sombre assessment suggests it will be hard even to reach the USD 10 billion mark from 2014.

ODA in 2018: Decade-long decline in aid for Sub-Saharan Africa continues

Donors’ aid to Africa and the world’s poorest countries is falling as part of a decade-long trend, says OECD’s aid watchdog DAC. Development assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa fell by 4.4 per cent last year. Humanitarian aid is also shrinking.

Ambitious plan to grow UN Peacebuilding Fund to USD 500m

The Swedish Foreign Ministry has hosted the first donors’ strategic financing dialogue for the UN Peacebuilding Fund aimed at realising UN Secretary General António Gutteres’ vision of tripling the size of the fund.

UNEP on a tight leash in wake of travel audit

Months after a critical audit of UN Environment triggered the resignation of Executive Director Erik Solheim, donors are positive about his replacement Inger Andersen, but they continue to use the money weapon to ensure that the agency improves practice.

Finland breaks new ground with loan for IFAD’s core activities

Finland becomes the first Nordic donor to provide a loan to finance a multilateral agency’s core efforts. A EUR 50 million long-term Finnish loan will fund the UN’s agency for rural and agriculture development IFAD’s efforts to support small-scale farmers increase their yields and adjust to climate change.

New aid index measuring self-interest of donors gives Nordics mixed score

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has created a new aid index which measures the extent to which donors’ self-interest penetrates disbursement of aid. Three Nordic donors rank among the top ten.

Nordics await due diligence before deciding on David Malpass as World Bank President

All the five Nordic countries confirm to Development Today that they will not take a position on David Malpass’ candidacy as President of the World Bank until the board has completed its due diligence and interview process. Malpass was nominated by President Donald Trump and is the only candidate for the job.

Norway rewards Indonesia by leaving out peat burning from carbon accounting

By excluding massive CO2 emissions from peat burning in Indonesia, Norway recently presented a positive carbon tally and granted its first payment to the Southeast Asian forest giant for reduced emissions from deforestation. The NOK 200 million reward coincided with the 10th anniversary of the countries’ climate partnership. If emissions from peatlands had been counted, there might be no basis for payment at all, a scrutiny by Development Today shows.

US nominee Malpass on track to become new World Bank President

David Malpass, 63, is on track to become the next President of the World Bank. As the deadline for nominations expires, he is the only official candidate for the job. It is now expected that the World Bank board will test his commitment to the Bank’s agenda on poverty, climate and multilateralism in the coming weeks.

Brazil receives first Green Climate Fund grant for REDD+. Critics warn of ‘paper reductions’ with no real climate benefits

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved a USD 96 million grant for Brazil, a reward for reductions in emissions from deforestation achieved five years ago. NGOs warned of “paper reductions without any real climate benefits.” Germany and the US pushed for conditions to be attached, while Norway was keen to send a positive signal.

Nordics pressed Trump’s candidate for World Bank Presidency on poverty focus

The Trump administration’s candidate for President of the World Bank David Malpass met with Nordic-Baltic ministers in Reykjavik this week. He was pressed on issues like climate change, gender and his commitment to multilateralism. For now, Malpass is the only candidate in the race, but so far none of the Nordic countries has expressed their support for him.

Replenishment delay has cost Green Climate Fund billions of dollars

Following its 22nd board meeting last week, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) announced it will hold its first replenishment in late October, a year and a half behind schedule. The delay has meant a loss of climate financing amounting to USD 4 billion.

Iceland’s ex-PM Geir Haarde seizes Nordic-Baltic top position at World Bank

The former Icelandic Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde, 67, assumes the position of the Nordic-Baltic countries Executive Director at the World Bank this summer, a spokesperson at the Foreign Ministry in Reykjavik confirms to Development Today.

Humanitarians call for neutral aid and access to mitigate Yemen crisis

Nordic donors pledged USD 67.4 million for the humanitarian crisis in Yemen during a recent donor meeting in Geneva. This amounts to one-tenth of the OECD countries’ Yemen aid. Two Arab allies fighting in the war provided the lion’s share of funds, raising concerns about impartiality of relief aid.

New Danish UNEP boss must regain donors’ trust after Solheim debacle

The Dane Inger Andersen has been chosen to restore confidence at UNEP in Nairobi after the former chief Erik Solheim was forced to leave three months ago. An audit revealed that he had travelled excessively and encouraged staff to “wilfully violate” UN rules, “encouraged a culture of impunity ... and weakened the control environment .”

Tough competition for donor money: Global health agencies under scrutiny for inflating results

In an environment of fierce competition, global health initiatives like the Global Fund are making grand claims regarding the numbers of lives they can save if donors provide enough money. But in the new, more holistic SDG era, with an ambition of universal health coverage, researchers say that such claims are “misleading.” “We have to stop this game of trying to say exactly how many years or months or lives we can buy with one earmarked dollar,” says Gorik Ooms at the London School of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene to Development Today.

Finnfund eyes record expansion. Doubts about risks and profit

Finnfund might soon receive its largest-ever injection of capital. It plans to focus on high-risk markets, double its investments and triple its impacts, while at the same time maintaining profit levels. An evaluation report warns that Finnfund will be hard pressed to tick all these boxes at once.

Mutual distrust between donors and humanitarians, ‘opaque’ decision making on both sides

Humanitarian aid would stretch farther and respond better to those most in need if donors coordinated their allocations in a transparent manner instead of making funding decisions in isolation, but there is little appetite among donors to do so. This is one of the conclusions of a recent study on underfunded humanitarian appeals commissioned by the Swedish aid evaluation office, EBA.

Bring China into the international financial system

Will China indebt the world? China has risen rapidly to become the world’s largest infrastructure creditor. Its lending is politically driven, risk-prone and opaque, and has left many borrowers with unsustainable debt. China should be encouraged to join the established, rules-based international financial system, writes Robert Wihtol, a former Director General at the Asian Development Bank.

Danish SDG fund grows to DKK 4.85b, first investments in blueberries and solar

Starting with a government grant of just DKK 100 million, the Danish aid-funded investor IFU has announced the close of its SDG fund worth DKK 4.85 billion. The fund’s first two investments are in blueberry farms in South Africa and solar power in the Ukraine.

Aid reform at home is new Christian Democrat minister’s toughest task

Dag Inge Ulstein (Christian Democrat) has been put in charge of the development portfolio at Norway’s Foreign Ministry. One of his most urgent tasks starts at home: moving forward the stalled reform of the aid administration. His party has not given up the idea of creating a new Development Ministry.

Green Party’s Peter Eriksson new Swedish development minister

More than four months after the election of a new Parliament, a new red-green government takes office in Sweden. Green veteran Peter Eriksson becomes Development Minister, while his party colleague Isabella Lövin leaves the job to take over the environment portfolio.

Norway doubles down on climate forest aid as deforestation continues to rise

A decade has passed since Norway became the world’s largest forest donor. In an interview with Development Today, Climate Minister Ola Elvestuen sheds light on the status of the multi-billion-dollar climate forest programme in key recipient countries. In Indonesia performance-based payments could begin by 2020. The Amalia Falls hydropower dam in Guyana, which Norway has been pushing for years, is off the table. Regarding Brazil, Elvestuen shifts the Norwegian narrative, admitting it is impossible to say to what degree rainforest payments have contributed to reduced deforestation.

Billion-dollar vaccine subsidy. Donors reject proposed changes aimed at pushing down price

Donors refuse to ring-fence the remaining money in a billion-dollar pneumonia vaccine fund and give it to an Indian pharmaceutical that can push down the price dramatically. Most of the money has gone to the two big pharma companies, GSK and Pfizer, which dominate the market and, critics say, prevent price competition.

Tied Finnish mixed credit scheme in high demand

A new, tied aid-financed scheme for infrastructure projects is in high demand among Finnish export firms. Only one in six projects made it through the needle’s eye this year. NGOs and the OECD have criticised Finland’s practice of linking aid to its own exporters.

Danish business group lukewarm on private sector aid scheme linked to NGOs

When a conventional approach to promoting private sector aid failed to produce long-lasting results, Danida came up with a new model for stimulating good business ideas and jobs in developing countries - with NGOs as a key part of the equation. The reaction from the Danish private sector is mixed.

Grim assessment: 10 years of REDD+ has not slowed deforestation

The REDD+ concept, which was based on the deceptively simple idea that giving cash to forest-rich countries would incentivise them to protect their forests, raised huge expectations a decade ago. With USD 2.7 billion committed, 60 per cent of this from Norway, REDD+ has not slowed deforestation, a team of researchers conclude in a new book published by CIFOR. Still, they say, REDD+ should not be abandoned.

Norfund prepares new growth strategy as Thorleifsson takes over

A venture capitalist with a soft spot for smallholder farmers in Africa and a strong stomach for risk taking,Tellef Thorleifsson has taken over the helm of Norfund, the 22-billion-crown aid-financed investment fund in Oslo. His first task is to oversee a new Norfund strategy.

Nordic donors divided over best response to homophobic crackdown in Tanzania

While Denmark has frozen DKK 65 million in aid in response to the anti-gay crackdown in Dar es Salaam, Norway is opting for diplomacy. Norwegian Development Minister Nikolai Astrup will raise his concern about the rise of homophobia during his visit to Tanzania this week, but withholding aid is not on his agenda.

Sida to decide on major aid package in wake of Solheim’s departure from UNEP

Just days after the embattled UNEP chief Erik Solheim announced his resignation, the Swedish agency Sida tells Development Today that it is preparing to decide on a large aid package to the Nairobi-based agency. The funding was put on hold in September in response to revelations in an on-going audit of excessive travelling costs incurred by Solheim and his staff.

Danish financing window links businesses with non-commercial actors to promote SDGs

Ecological coffee, recycling of plastic from used fishing equipment and digital solutions for enhancing agricultural production. These are among the ten projects awarded grants from Danida’s unique business financing window.

Save the Children calls for halt in Gavi vaccine subsidies to two pharma giants

The donor-funded vaccine alliance Gavi has over the last decade spent more than USD 1.2 billion out of its special fund for pneumonia vaccine, the AMC, on two Western pharma giants GSK and Pfizer. The AMC was supposed to encourage new suppliers to enter the market. Save the Children now wants Gavi to reserve the remaining AMC money for the Indian supplier Serum Institute.

Norway to disburse NOK 600m to support Brazil’s rainforest

Norway has decided to pay USD 70 million (NOK 600 million) to Brazil for reduced emissions from deforestation in the Amazon in 2017, the Climate Ministry announces in a press release. Climate Minister Ola Elvestuen calls the climate forest cooperation with Brazil a “great success,” but says recent trends give “reasons for concern.”

Swedish caretaker government: aid at 1% of GNI in 2019, few clues about priorities

The current Swedish administration, which is acting as a caretaker government, proposes that aid remains at 1 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) next year, but provides few details about priorities.

Finland breaks new ground with loan for IFAD’s core activities

Finland becomes the first Nordic donor to provide a loan to finance a multilateral agency’s core efforts. A EUR 50 million long-term Finnish loan will fund the UN’s agency for rural and agriculture development IFAD’s efforts to support small-scale farmers increase their yields and adjust to climate change.

New aid index measuring self-interest of donors gives Nordics mixed score

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has created a new aid index which measures the extent to which donors’ self-interest penetrates disbursement of aid. Three Nordic donors rank among the top ten.

Nordics await due diligence before deciding on David Malpass as World Bank President

All the five Nordic countries confirm to Development Today that they will not take a position on David Malpass’ candidacy as President of the World Bank until the board has completed its due diligence and interview process. Malpass was nominated by President Donald Trump and is the only candidate for the job.

Norway rewards Indonesia by leaving out peat burning from carbon accounting

By excluding massive CO2 emissions from peat burning in Indonesia, Norway recently presented a positive carbon tally and granted its first payment to the Southeast Asian forest giant for reduced emissions from deforestation. The NOK 200 million reward coincided with the 10th anniversary of the countries’ climate partnership. If emissions from peatlands had been counted, there might be no basis for payment at all, a scrutiny by Development Today shows.

US nominee Malpass on track to become new World Bank President

David Malpass, 63, is on track to become the next President of the World Bank. As the deadline for nominations expires, he is the only official candidate for the job. It is now expected that the World Bank board will test his commitment to the Bank’s agenda on poverty, climate and multilateralism in the coming weeks.

Finland breaks new ground with loan for IFAD’s core activities

Finland becomes the first Nordic donor to provide a loan to finance a multilateral agency’s core efforts. A EUR 50 million long-term Finnish loan will fund the UN’s agency for rural and agriculture development IFAD’s efforts to support small-scale farmers increase their yields and adjust to climate change.

New aid index measuring self-interest of donors gives Nordics mixed score

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has created a new aid index which measures the extent to which donors’ self-interest penetrates disbursement of aid. Three Nordic donors rank among the top ten.

Nordics await due diligence before deciding on David Malpass as World Bank President

All the five Nordic countries confirm to Development Today that they will not take a position on David Malpass’ candidacy as President of the World Bank until the board has completed its due diligence and interview process. Malpass was nominated by President Donald Trump and is the only candidate for the job.

Norway rewards Indonesia by leaving out peat burning from carbon accounting

By excluding massive CO2 emissions from peat burning in Indonesia, Norway recently presented a positive carbon tally and granted its first payment to the Southeast Asian forest giant for reduced emissions from deforestation. The NOK 200 million reward coincided with the 10th anniversary of the countries’ climate partnership. If emissions from peatlands had been counted, there might be no basis for payment at all, a scrutiny by Development Today shows.

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