All published articles with the tag "civil society".
Of: Agnes Björn and Marianne Eriksson
Children must be involved in the work of building communities that can stand up to natural disasters. The countries of the world agreed on this in Sendai in 2015. If we want this to become a reality, we must increase aid to civil society and work with disaster risk reduction in the world's schools, writes Plan International Sweden.
May 23, 2017, Debate
Of: Ulrika Modéer
Business collaboration in development assistance is about taking advantage of the knowledge, experience and resources that the business community has at its disposal and to catalyze more, better and faster change. Penny Davies, Diakonia, is concerned that important principles for aid effectiveness will be thwarted when the OCED DAC now reviews which private sector instruments should be counted as aid. Sweden is working with full force to prevent this from happening, writes State Secretary Ulrika Modéer.
April 3, 2017, Debate
Of: Jenny Hedstrom and Johanna Kvist
In recent years, Burma has opened up to the outside world, but women are still excluded from political contexts. It is crucial for the country's continued democratic development to strengthen the rights of girls and women. Sweden should therefore increase support for the local women's organizations whose gender equality work has already led to real change, write Jenny Hedström and Johanna Kvist from the Swedish Burma Committee.
March 16, 2017, Debate
Of: Penny Davies
Discussions are currently underway within the OECD's Development Assistance Committee DAC on what can be counted as development assistance. Today, 9 March, the Committee will take a position on new types of instruments aimed at increasing private sector participation in development assistance. This reform can have very major consequences for development aid and therefore requires in-depth discussion. Otherwise, there is a risk that the reform thumbs up on important principles for aid effectiveness, writes Penny Davies, policy adviser in development financing at Diakonia.
March 9, 2017, Debate
Of: Anneli Rogeman, Annika Schabbauer, Annika Forests, Birgitta Göranson-Iliste, Bo Forsberg, Cecilia Chatterjee-Martinsen, Erik Lysén, Gabi Björsson, Kristina Henschen, Lisa Sjöblom, Lotta Sjöström Becker, Luis Lineo, Maria Andersson and Marianne Eriksson
President Donald Trump's reintroduction of the Global Gag Rule means that much of America's maternal health assistance is frozen - something that will affect those living in poverty the most. It risks significantly increasing the number of unwanted pregnancies and leading to the deaths of thousands of girls and women around the world. Now Sweden and the outside world must cover for the reduced aid. Therefore, 14 organizations in CONCORD Sweden's gender equality working group call on the government and the Riksdag to add new money to the spring budget.
February 23, 2017, Debate
Of: Alina Östling
A new report from the organization Open Government Partnership shows that Sweden has made progress in terms of transparency in development assistance, but that there are still a number of shortcomings. In particular, better information is needed on when, to whom and why development assistance funds have been paid out. The government must also allocate sufficient resources to ensure transparency in the implementation and follow-up of the policy for global development (PGU), writes the report's author Alina Östling.
January 25, 2017, Debate
Of: Annie Sturinge (f. Sturesson)
No workshops but per diem. The fact that aid money is used for the allowances for civil servants not only leads to costs that are difficult to defend, it also creates the wrong incentives. Aid actors need to reflect more self-critically on how they contribute to distorted reward systems, writes Annie Sturesson.
January 12, 2017, Debate
Despite good intentions, the Western world has not achieved security and development in Afghanistan. One reason for this is that most of the financial support has gone to military operations. In addition, cooperation with the military has damaged the credibility of civilian aid actors, writes Anna-Karin Johansson, Secretary General of the Swedish Afghanistan Committee, in connection with the ongoing Afghanistan investigation.
June 2, 2016, Debate
At the same time as the importance of civil society for development cooperation is emphasized, its scope for action decreases. The reactions to this have so far been tentative, both in Sweden and internationally. Strategic countermeasures are now required, writes Agneta Gunnarsson, author of one new report about the increasingly harsh climate of civil society.
April 25, 2016, Debate
Of: Gideon Ayodo
Despite many aid efforts to promote peace, conflicts continue to start around the world. In almost all conflicts, young people are used to commit and participate in violence. Therefore, Sweden, the EU and the UN should invest in supporting peace work aimed at young people, writes the organization Youth Alive! Kenya.
November 5, 2015, Debate