The Dutch government plans to cut funding to local and international civil society organizations by around two-thirds, with development players calling it a “devastating and unprecedented” move.
Reinette Klever, the country’s foreign trade and development minister, announced last week that grants for CSOs will be between €390 million (about $412 million) and €565 million for 2026 to 2030, down from €1.4 billion in the five-year period ending in 2025.
The cuts will affect local CSOs and those abroad, the government explained in a statement, as it portrayed the changes as part of an effort to back localization.