The proposed cuts affect both countries and investment areas. The government proposes cuts in the regional allocations to countries in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The exception is Africa, where an increase is proposed. The chapter for educational assistance is proposed to be cut by 20 per cent. This is aid that goes to children’s schooling in the global south. ERADICATION: Photo: William Jobling / news – Here it is not just a turning, but a razing of vital aid work that people from the professional side have said it was important to get started again after the pandemic, says KrF’s parliamentary representative Dag Inge Ulstein to news. – I actually didn’t think it was possible to cut more, since it has been so shaved before. Ulstein refers to a number of major and minor proposed cuts in the aid budget, where civilian aid to Ukraine accounts for much of the growth. – If you sum this up, there is extremely little solidarity. On top of that, they halve the quota refugees from 2,000 to 1,000. The UN asks us to accept 5,000 quota refugees. What we know is a safe and secure way to look after the refugees in the greatest need. Spending as much on Ukraine as on the road Overall, the government estimates that the war in Ukraine will cost Norway NOK 44 billion next year. That is about the same as the police and the courts cost last year, and slightly more than the total road budget of around NOK 43 billion. But that means tough priorities elsewhere in the budget. Save the Children is the largest Norwegian recipient organization of education aid. Secretary-General Birgitte Lange believes the proposed cut will affect children’s schooling in countries such as Mozambique, Yemen and South Sudan. Birgitte Lange in Save the Children believes that Norway can afford both Ukrainian refugees and other aid. Photo: Willy Hage / news – This is very serious. This government had every opportunity for a boost that meets the global education gap. Save the Children has calculated that the government’s proposed cuts could mean that 200,000 children lose their schooling. Lange says the pandemic broke a positive development for children’s schooling in developing countries, because teachers quit, girls were married off and young boys were sent out to work instead of going to school. – With the war in Ukraine likely to cost us around NOK 44 billion next year, isn’t it understandable that you can’t bet on everything? – Norway has, quite involuntarily, become a war profiteer. The war means that Norway earns good money. We also know that aid funds are not inflationary. Norway can afford to raise the aid budget, and a strong moral responsibility to do so, says Lange. – We can take global leadership in the field of education when the situation for children in many countries has been set back significantly in recent years. It is both economically and morally almost incomprehensible that we do not do it. The Minister for Development: – The facet will be clear later Development Minister Anne Beathe Tvinnereim (Sp) did not have the opportunity to be interviewed by news about the aid budget. In an e-mail sent via her communications department, she gives the following written response to the criticism: TAKE IT BY MAIL: Development Minister Anne Beathe Tvinnereim (Sp) writes in an e-mail that it is too early to say concretely how the aid will go to various countries in 2024. Photo: Mats Rønning / news “We propose to lower priority on some items for bilateral aid to regions and countries. At the same time, as Ulstein knows very well, aid to countries also comes from many parts of the budget. It is too early to say concretely about the level of aid to various countries in 2024. The outcome will only become clear later, when concrete decisions are made under each item.” Regarding the proposed cuts in education aid, she replies: “I can reassure Ulstein that we are mainly planning to continue the current agreements with our partners, at the same level as now. The same applies to the program for higher education Norhed and Norpart. It is also the case that educational assistance is financed through many different budget items. In contrast, we propose somewhat reduced support for the Research Council.”
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Save the Children disappointed by the government’s proposed aid cuts – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
