The spillover effects of Russia’s war on Ukraine have been fast and far-reaching. With governments rebalancing their priorities — and budgets — some worry increased defense spending could squeeze humanitarian aid.
Today we’re also asking how donors can provide more effective support to feminist movements, and looking for the next steps in the U.S. declaration of genocide in Myanmar.
Aid advocates are joining the chorus of voices calling for solidarity with Ukraine, but some of them are adding an addendum: Don’t let that solidarity come at the expense of other crisis response needs around the world.
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Burton Bollag reports for Devex that you don’t have to read too closely between the budget lines to find reasons to worry that governments are moving money around instead of spending more of it on a growing list of urgent global crises.
The U.S. government attached a $13.6 billion supplemental aid package for Ukraine to its latest budget — but the overall funding figures for foreign aid were extremely disappointing. In the U.K., my colleague Will Worley has highlighted fears that the crisis will be used to justify cuts to climate change, global health, and conflict prevention programs. Janez Lenarčič, the European commissioner for crisis management, felt compelled to clarify that the commission’s pledge toward the United Nations’ flash appeal for Ukraine was all “fresh funding.”
Russia’s invasion is likely to provoke European and North American countries to increase their defense spending, and some experts worry aid budgets could be a casualty. With food shortages looming and the COVID-19 pandemic still weighing on economies, that could mean long-term development assistance gets used for short-term crisis response.
“It may make sense in the short term, but it doesn’t make sense in the long term,” says Angus Urquhart of Development Initiatives.
Read: Will rising defense budgets impact aid?
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On budget
“The funds used to pay this debt do not count as Official Development Assistance, but they will only be available for the purchase of humanitarian goods.”
— James Cleverly, minister at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development OfficeWill Worley reports that a payment of roughly $528 million made by the U.K. government to Iran to enable the release of hostage Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe last week will not be paid from the aid budget.
Read: UK payments to Iran will not count toward aid budget
ICYMI: Devex Pro subscribers can take a look at our analysis of potential changes to the U.K.’s aid strategy and its attendant consequences.
Following through
Donors still have a few things to learn when it comes to providing effective support to feminist movements, and my colleague Stephanie Beasley put together a must-watch panel to explain exactly how funding can work better.
One big opportunity: feminist funds.
“Feminist funds are such an awesome vehicle to get the money to the proximate leaders that are doing this work,” says Nidhi Sahni of The Bridgespan Group.
Watch: 3 ways philanthropists and INGOs can support feminist movements
ICYMI: As MacKenzie Scott donates $3.9B, one grantee expresses ambivalence
Words vs. action
Last week, the U.S. government announced it has determined that the Myanmar military committed a genocide against the Rohingya. Now human rights advocates want to know: Will that lead to any tangible policy change?
My colleague Adva Saldinger reports that some advocates would like to see the U.S. expel Myanmar’s ambassador, provide more support to the National Unity Government, join Gambia’s case against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice, or push for an arms embargo at the U.N.
“If the U.S. is not doing anything, they will see that as a symbolic action,” says Kyaw Win, executive director of the Burma Human Rights Network.
Read: The US declared violence against the Rohingya was genocide. What’s next?
4 barriers
According to Dr. John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention — and President Biden’s nominee to lead PEPFAR — there are four barriers to getting COVID-19 shots into people’s arms on the African continent.
1. Inadequate storage.
2. Reaching the last mile.
3. Limited labor.
4. Unwillingness to get vaccinated.
With just 15% of the continent’s population fully vaccinated, public health advocates will be hard-pressed to reach the goal of 70% inoculation by the middle of 2022.
Read: 4 barriers to broaden COVID-19 vaccinations in African countries
+ Our latest edition of Devex CheckUp includes a report on how COVID-19 exposed Africa’s medical oxygen crisis. Sign up to CheckUp to receive next Thursday’s edition of our free, global health newsletter.
In other news
The Qatar Fund for Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have pledged $200 million for agricultural and economic development as well as climate resilience in sub-Saharan countries. [Gulf News]
Ukrainian politicians have called out the UN Refugee Agency and the International Committee of the Red Cross for being unprepared to respond to the war and prioritizing personnel over Ukrainians. [The Guardian]
Germany plans to decrease budget as it increases military spending, according to a draft budget that outlines a budget reduction to €10.8 billion ($11.8 billion) for the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and a cut to World Food Programme contribution by 50%. [Deutsche Welle]
El Salvador declared a state of emergency Sunday, following a spate of gang violence that killed 62 people over the weekend. [CNN]
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About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
