Over 30 NGOs warn: "Cuts threaten successes already achieved"
Berlin, July 17, 2024 – The draft federal budget for 2025 has been approved by the cabinet. Despite appeals from within its own political camp, the German government has initiated massive cuts in development cooperation and humanitarian aid. The #LuftNachOben alliance considers this austerity policy irresponsible. It calls on the Bundestag not to support the cuts and to find ways to ensure that the capacity of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Foreign Office (AA) is not impaired.
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development's (BMZ) budget has already been cut from €12.2 billion (2023) to €11.2 billion for the current year. With the draft budget for 2025 adopted by the German government, the BMZ budget is to be reduced by a further €1 billion to €10.3 billion. The Federal Foreign Office is also affected by the massive cuts: its budget for this year has already been reduced from €7.5 billion (2023) to €6.7 billion. The German government's draft budget now foresees a further reduction of the budget to €5.9 billion for 2025. This has a significant impact not only on the overall structure of the ministry, but also on the financial design of German humanitarian aid, which has already been reduced from 2.7 billion euros (2023) to 2.2 billion euros (2024) and is to be cut further to 1.04 billion euros for 2025.
In a joint appeal, 32 German non-governmental organizations (listed below) are calling for a reversal of the cuts to development cooperation and humanitarian aid: “The German government’s budget planning is short-sighted and undermines Germany’s self-imposed goal of working towards a fairer, more prosperous, more peaceful, and safer world. For the sake of short-term savings, the German government is accepting long-term damage and abandoning the people who most urgently need our help. This risks causing us to fall behind the progress already made in combating poverty and hunger, education, global health, climate protection, and the empowerment of women and girls. Making up for lost ground will be many times more expensive. Today’s cuts are tomorrow’s crises.”
Protest in front of the Chancellery:
To make their voices heard, numerous representatives of several aid and development organizations gathered in front of the Chancellery this morning. Equipped with a 12-meter-long red pen, they appealed to the federal government to reverse the cuts to development cooperation and humanitarian aid. The action was initiated by the development organization ONE and the #LuftNachOben alliance. Photos of the action can be found here: go.one.org/Kanzleramtprotest
<hr>
The following non-governmental organizations support the joint appeal:
Agiamondo, Action Against Hunger, Action Alliance Against AIDS, AWO International, Bread for the World, Christoffel Blind Mission (cbm), German Foundation for World Population, Friends of the Global Fund Europe, Global Citizen, Help – Help for Self-Help, Humedica, Inkota, International Justice Mission (IJM), International Rescue Committee (IRC), Johanniter International Aid, Kindernothilfe, Medimissio, NAK-Karitativ, Network Bangladesh, NRC Refugee Aid, ONE, Oxfam, Plan International, Save the Children, Solidarity Service International, Southwind Institute, Terre des Hommes , Veterinarians Without Borders, World Peace Service, Welthungerhilfe , World University Service and World Vision.