Welthungerhilfe criticises development assistance cuts

The recently approved draft budget of Germany’s Federal Government for 2025 foresees further cuts for the budget of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), lowering it by just below a billion euros to 10.3 billion euros (2023: 12.3 billion euros; 2024: 11.2 billion euros). Cuts also planned for the budget of the Federal Foreign Office would mean that finance for humanitarian aid would be reduced from a present 2.2 billion euros to 1.04 billion euros for 2025. “The cuts now announced give a completely wrong signal,” said Welthungerhilfe President Marlehn Thieme, presenting her organisation’s Annual Report in Berlin/Germany. They would jeopardise successful programmes to combat hunger which the Federal Government had so far supported, Thieme warned.

One year in school = 20 per cent more income

The cuts come at a time when sections of the German public are increasingly questioning the point of development cooperation. This is unjustified, Thieme maintains, pointing to numerous success stories in development cooperation – for example in combating child mortality or in empowering disadvantaged groups. Thieme cited UN figures, according to which each year of primary school boosts girls’ eventual wages by 10 to 20 per cent; with each extra year of secondary school it was 15 to 25 per cent. And she added: “Development cooperation also lays the foundations for peace and affluence here in Germany. For every second euro in Germany is earned with exports. That is why it is important for people in other countries to have a good life.”

Combating malnutrition with nutrition-smart communities

Around 30 per cent of children under the age of five years are too small for their age; this phenomenon, known as stunting, is due to lasting malnutrition or nutrition deficiency in the early years of life. The Welthungerhilfe seeks to counter this with measures such as its Nutrition Smart CommUnity programme. Here, nutrition and health consultants are trained in the communities, and villages are supported with appropriate seed, tools and farming, food and natural resource management training.

People in Sudan mustn’t be forgotten

Welthungerhilfe General Secretary Mathias Mogge also drew attention to the catastrophic situation in Sudan, the fate of whose people appears to be falling into oblivion given the large number of crisis situations across the world. Armed conflicts between military and paramilitary forces erupting in April 2023 have resulted in more than ten million people fleeing. Over 25 million people, half of the entire population, are in a critical food situation, and 750,000 are faced with the threat of starving to death. At the same time, the distribution of aid supplies has become extremely difficult. And schools and universities are closed – “with an entire generation being left behind”, as Mogge commented. He noted that it was vital to exert more political pressure on the warring parties and their supporters in order to put an end to hostilities and achieve free access to those suffering hunger.

A paradigm shift in humanitarian aid is needed

Given the numerous crises throughout the world, humanitarian aid is becoming increasingly important. But it often comes too late. Following experience gained with a pilot project in Madagascar, with the support of the German Foreign Office, in May 2023, Welthungerhilfe therefore developed a programme for anticipatory humanitarian aid. The principle is similar to that applied in index-based insurance. If certain thresholds, such as a deficit in precipitation over a certain period, are crossed, then the families receive pay-outs in cash. This enables them to respond to looming crises at an early stage, for example by buying food or animal feed before a drought or floods destroy the entire harvest. They are then no longer forced to leave out meals or sell their animals as a result of the crisis. In close cooperation with the local universities, meteorological services and various non-governmental organisations, weather forecast models and emergency plans are compiled for this purpose. And this has met with success. “We need a paradigm shift in humanitarian aid,” urges Mathias Mogge.

Silvia Richter, editor, Rural 21

More information:

Welthungerhilfe's Annual Report (in German; English version to follow)

Facts & Figures on hunger at Welthungerhilfe website

Rural 21 Dossier on Food Systems