(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
This post is written at 10 meters above sea level in a plane on its way from Oslo to Nicaragua to visit the Development Fund's partners in Central America. This is the first time I as a leader will visit the projects we work on in the region. I will visit cooperatives that organize women small farmers so that they now have a voice in national decision-making forums, and produce and package coffee of such a quality that the discerning European coffee market demands their products. I will meet indigenous groups who are struggling to manage and have control over the nature they have lived in and lived off for years. Some of the partners from Honduras and Guatemala will participate in delegations at the climate summit in Paris later this year. Together we will prepare to convey the vital message that the temperature has already risen so much that it affects the crops and thus their livelihood.
Takes from the poor. But the visit will be different than we had planned. Since we began planning the project visit, the Norwegian government has presented a draft state budget that sets up a new course for Norwegian aid, and which dramatically weakens work going on through voluntary organizations and civil society. Assistance through organizations that build democratic societies from below and work for human rights is no longer a flagship for Norwegian aid. In addition, the regional focus on Central America is proposed to be so drastically reduced that even agreements entered into risk being cut abruptly and without the opportunity for good exit strategies that give local organizations realistic opportunities to find new sources of funding.
The paradigm shift in Norwegian aid should be a headache for many.
The backdrop is known. Large arrivals of refugees are expected to Norway – and this of course costs. In the best broadcast time on the television program Lindmo Prime Minister Erna Solberg explained why it is precisely the assistance that will cover the largest part of the costs. "It can't be that anyone in Norway feels they're taking the bill for the refugees," she explained. Therefore, the choice fell on those who do not have the right to vote in Norway – poor in developing countries. That's just how it is.
Pioneering country. When I soon land in Manugua, I will be planning strategies for the Paris climate summit, and we will discuss how best to work with human rights violations in Central America. But most of all, the meetings we have will be marked by a possible farewell. If the budget remains as it is now, Norway will no longer support the work on democracy development, food security, climate adaptation and human rights in Central America. This is a headache for all of us who work with aid and our partners. But the paradigm shift in Norwegian aid should be a headache for many. This year, the world community adopted new sustainability goals. If we focus on long-term crisis prevention and sustainable development, we as a world community have the opportunity to eradicate poverty and hunger by 2030. Erna Solberg herself took part in the celebration of the sustainability goals in New York, and basked in the glory of big stars and spotlights in Central Park. Not long after, she presents a budget that cuts long-term aid and climate measures to civil society.
Norway has long been a pioneer in development assistance. A country you listen to. But if all countries now choose to do as Norway, the world community will not be able to achieve the sustainability goals.
Partapuoli is the head of the Development Fund.
kari.helene@utviklingsfondat.no
