Even in 2020, Slovakia did not come close to its international commitment to spend financial resources in the amount of 0.33% of the gross national income on development cooperation. From last year's contribution of 124.5 mil. EUR is almost 20 million. euro so called 'inflated' aid, for example in the form of forgiveness of the 30-year debt to Serbia. However, needy people in the countries of the Global South need our solidarity now more than ever.
AidWatch is a report of the Platform of Development Organizations - Umbrella, which describes and evaluates the system of development cooperation - ODA SR (from English Official development assistance), including its processes, milestones, as well as set and achieved goals in 2020. It thus offers a unique and critical perspective, as well as recommendations for the field of development cooperation and global education on the part of civil society.
An opportunity for foreign aid reforms ruined by the pandemic
The promising systemic changes in the development cooperation of the Slovak Republic from the beginning of 2020 were thwarted by the Covid-19 pandemic and political decisions. Although the European Union mobilized resources through the Team Europe initiative and provided a total of 66.8 billion. euro to help address the effects of the pandemic in low-income countries, Slovakia did not contribute 'new money' to the fight against Covid-19, but diverted 4 million from the existing budget. euro In total, the Slovak Republic contributed 124.5 million to development cooperation. EUR, which on paper represents an annual increase in the share of ODA from 0.11% to 0.14% of gross national income (GNI).
However, the executive secretary of Umbrella and co-author of the AidWatch report, Daniel Kaba, points out: "Behind this apparent increase is the drop in gross domestic product due to the pandemic and mainly the forgiveness of the debt to Serbia and Somalia in the amount of 16.6 million euros. In 2020, Slovakia actually provided only 105 million euros for real development cooperation, and its share in GNI was 0.12%. At this rate, Slovakia will come closer to its commitment to spend 0.33% of GNI on development cooperation only in 2130 instead of 2030."
According to Kabu, even a kind of 'wake-up call' in the form of the global coronavirus pandemic did not start the necessary dialogue about how the Slovak Republic could be more in solidarity, help in the world more effectively and, through development cooperation projects with partner organizations in the program countries of the Global South, contribute more to solutions to world problems that also concern us.
Recommendations for greater solidarity and help in the world
The actual bilateral/bilateral aid, which was fully managed by the Slovak Republic (after deduction of contributions to international organizations), and thanks to which Slovak non-governmental organizations, universities and companies could implement their development projects, was equal to the amount of 16.7 million. euro For illustration, this amount can be compared to the cost of building 1 km of the Pstruša-Kriváň expressway or the market price of 80 apartments in Bratislava. At the same time, only 17% of this amount went to the three program countries where Slovakia has development diplomats. Therefore, the Umbrella platform recommends that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the coordinator of Slovak ODA under the SlovakAid brand, provide at least 30% of the volume of bilateral development cooperation to the program countries, which will reduce its fragmentation and increase the sustainability of projects.
In addition to the recommendations (on the volume, reporting, as well as the quality of official development cooperation), Ambrela also prepared a traffic light evaluation of the goals at the end of the entire AidWatch report. This is a basic assessment by civil society about how the Slovak Republic is progressing in the field of development cooperation, and how it is performing in a year-on-year comparison in the light of the recommendations of the Committee for Development Assistance of the OECD, of which the Slovak Republic has been a member since 2013.
In addition to the corona crisis, the program country of ODA SR – Kenya, in which Umbrella members have been active for a long time, experienced one of the worst locust invasions in history. It destroyed a large part of the crops, exposing thousands of people to hunger, malnutrition and deepening tribal conflicts. In 2020, Lebanon fell into a deep economic, political and social crisis, and the number of people living below the poverty line (including a million refugees from Syria) increased from 28% to 55% year-on-year. As you can see, the countries of the Global South really need our solidarity and effective development projects directly in vulnerable communities now more than before the onset of the pandemic. If Slovakia effectively uses its potential, it can participate more responsibly in solving global challenges affecting the lives of needy people not only in remote corners of the world, but also here at home.
You can download and subscribe to the AidWatch report from the Umbrella workshop here: https://ambrela.org/spravy/vydali-sme-spravu-aidwatch-hodnotenie-systemu-oda-sr-za-rok-2020/
About the Umbrella platform as the creator of the AidWatch report: The platform of development organizations - Umbrella unites and represents the interests of 28 important Slovak organizations (mostly non-governmental) that operate in the field of development cooperation, humanitarian aid or global education. Its main pillars include advocacy, capacity building of member organizations and public awareness of global challenges and the need for solidarity with those in need. Ambrela is also a founding member of the Confederation of European Non-Governmental Development and Humanitarian Organizations (CONCORD Europe) and thus participates in promoting the interests of development cooperation and fulfilling the Global Goals of Agenda 2030 at the level of the European Union. The AidWatch report was developed in consultation with Umbrella members and observers.
Text and photo: Umbrella (www.ambrela.org)