The Foreign Ministry in Stockholm is breathing a sigh of relief as the four-party coalition government approved new country strategies for two key recipients, Tanzania and Zambia, on Thursday. The decision represents a breakthrough for Development Minister Gunilla Carlsson who has come under heavy criticism for severe delays in the process of revamping Swedish aid policy.

Foreign NGOs take growing share of Swedish humanitarian funding

MSF Sweden remains Sida’s main NGO channel for humanitarian funding. Over the past eight years, however, Sida support for non-Swedish actors like Oxfam has skyrocketed, while funding for Swedish, mainly faith-based organisations has fallen off.

Guyana aims to spend NOK 500m in climate aid on a dam in the Amazon rainforest

Guyana has doubled the amount of Norwegian climate aid it aims to spend on the controversial Amaila Falls hydropower project. This awaits a green light from both the Inter-American Development Bank and Norway.

Full speed ahead for Tanzania’s fossil fuel development. Renewables on back burner

Coal and gas are fuelling Tanzania’s growing economy. Donors are looking for strategic interventions, but aid is no longer a driving force.

Tanzania. Slow UN reform at headquarters hampers progress on the ground

Six years after launching UN reform efforts in Tanzania, the world organisation still lacks a UN House where all agencies can share premises.

New rules for humanitarian funding

Sida is re-organising the way it disburses humanitarian funds to civil society organisations as part of a larger effort to rationalise its system for NGO funding.

Reviving support for Blue Nile mega-dams

They were to be the biggest dams in Africa. But Ethiopian ambitions put a sudden end to the support. Two years on, Norway is still uncertain about how to move forward.

No immediate plans to resume Uganda aid

Six months have passed since revelations of extensive aid fraud in Uganda. No Nordic donor is close to setting a date for the resumption of aid.

Opinions

Burma peace envoy. ‘Not buying support for ceasefires’

In 2007, Charles Petrie was the UN's top diplomat in Burma. He was expelled by the regime for speaking out in support of the democracy protests led by Buddhist monks. Today he is back in Burma, leading Norway's Myanmar Peace Support Initiative.

Uganda’s chief corruption fighter: ‘It’s nothing personal’

The Auditor General of Uganda, who revealed high-level embezzlement of aid funds last fall, urges donors to continue support through government agencies. In an interview with Development Today, he stresses that it was the Ugandan system that uncovered the scam and that aid to state agencies should continue.

Editorial

Opens humanitarian aid to foreign NGOs

One might expect a Swedish non-Socialist government to give priority to relief organisations that have a base in Sweden since working with civil society is a clear priority.

Global Fund seeks 44% boost in funding

The Global Fund has announced a fund-raising target of USD 15 billion for 2014-16, a substantial increase on the previous three-year period.

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Quote: Olso's peace envoy in Burma

“There was anticipation from the [Burmese] government that MPSI would deliver dividends for peace ... Norway was pushing us to come up with something concrete. But physical dividends are not and cannot be a means of enticing groups into joining the ceasefires. We are wary of our actions being seen as way of pressuring groups.”

- Charles Petrie, Myanmar Peace Support Initiative.

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