Council of the EU adopts conclusions on supporting sustainable development across the world
The Council of the EU adopted conclusions on July 8, 2019, in response to the European Commission's 2019 Joint Synthesis Report of the European Union and its member states on 'Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals across the world'. The Council affirmed its support for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ahead of the United Nations' High-Level Political Forum in September 2019 to review progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Council underlined the EU's history of strong support for social and human development in its development cooperation efforts by giving priority to social protection, decent work, universal health coverage, and access to education. However, it took note of several areas with insufficient progress, including using integrated approaches to achieve the SDGs, tailoring support to the needs of partner countries, encouraging partner countries to integrate the SDGs into their national strategies, working better together within the EU and its member states through joint programming, and developing more robust results-reporting systems.
Council Conclusions - Council of the EU
EU Education Global health
Over half of G7 spending for education goes to achieving gender equality
UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report has shown that 55% of spending by the G7 on education projects is earmarked for initiatives that strive to eradicate gender inequalities in schooling.
France, who currently holds the G7 presidency, is the second-largest donor, at 76%, after Canada at 92%. The analysis was part of a broader examination by UNESCO and GEM examining donor allocations to gender parity in education. The report gives recommendations for countries to equalize access to education between the genders, which include the following:
Fighting negative gender norms through coed sports or extracurricular activities that allow children of all genders to engage with one another, and encouraging girls to participate in STEM activities;
Increasing equitable access to education through conditional cash transfers, food for education initiatives, second-chance programs and strong technical and vocational training for women in key industries;
Strengthening teaching and learning resources through the revision of curriculum frameworks to help develop gender-responsive toolkits for teachers, and the provision of financial incentives for female teachers in remote locations;
Improving the learning environment through the development of local community learning centers and the legal frameworks and codes of conduct, and the enforcement of minimum standards on water and sanitation.
Blog post - UNESCO World Education Blog
Building Bridges for Gender Equality report - Global Education Monitoring
Canada France Germany Italy Japan United Kingdom United States Education
Norway announces record-high 2019 funding to UN organizations
The Norwegian government is increasing its core contribution to the UN and providing an all-time-high contribution to six UN organizations. The contributions are as follows:
UNICEF: NOK 1 billion (US$126 million)
UNDP: NOK 615 million (US$74 million)
UNFPA: NOK 530 million (US$6 million)
UN Women: NOK 100 million (US$12 million)
UNHCR: NOK 380 million (US$46 million)
WFP: NOK 300 million (US$36 million).
These are the highest contributions Norway has given to these organizations collectively. The Norwegian government expects the funds to be spent in an efficient and transparent manner.
Press release - Norweigan government
Norway Agriculture Education Global health Global health R&D Nutrition
C7 engagement group addresses recommendations for G7 2019
On July 3, 2019, The C7 Engagement Group (comprised of civil society organizations from G7 countries) addressed policy recommendations to the French secretary of state for foreign affairs, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, at the Economic, Social and Environment Council in France.
Key recommendations included:
Increasing financial resources dedicated to feminist associations, NGOs, and movements
Eradicating inequalities, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel, to ensure quality education for all
Providing accessible sexual and reproductive health and rights services
Supporting low-income countries in their domestic resource mobilization strategies
Substantially increasing the 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target by 2020 and agreeing on coal phase-out dates nationally
Ending the under-taxation of rich individuals and large corporations
Report - Coordination SUD website
France Education Global health
G20 leaders adopt joint declaration on global issues in Osaka
The G20 representatives adopted the 'G20 Osaka Leaders' Declaration', consisting of fives sections which cover a variety of global urgent issues:
Global economy;
Fostering robust global economic growth;
Global finance anti-corruption;
Creating a virtuous cycle of growth by addressing inequalities;
Realizing an inclusive and sustainable world.
The declaration also discusses pressing issues in global health, particularly the urgent need for universal health coverage(UHC) and a cooperative effort to address antimicrobial resistance. Further discussion will take place at the G20 health ministers' meeting in October 2019.
Press release - G20
Global Japan Agriculture Education Global health Global health R&D Nutrition
DevelopmentAid opens registration for donor network
DevelopmentAid, a membership organization and data provider for individuals and organizations in the international development sector, has recently opened the registration for donors in its network. Donors with DevelopmentAid can publish calls in the funding database to an audience of 100,000 entities and over 66,000 development professionals.
DevelopmentAid services include:
Donor analysis for monitoring investments made by every donor per sector, region, and type of contract
Tender tracking services for keeping up to date with upcoming development projects from multilateral organizations, bilateral donors, development banks, government agencies, and more
Recruitment tools to identify candidates that meet TOR requirements
Consortia building solutions for finding partners with relevant references and project experience
Due diligence system for candidate filtering
Donor registration - DevelopmentAid
Informational brochure - DevelopmentAid
Agriculture Education Global health Global health R&D Nutrition
UK's Department for International Development revises priorities – peace, planet, prosperity, people and partnerships
The UK's Department for International Development (DFID) has updated its priorities, publishing a revised Single Departmental Plan on June 26, 2019. The plan sets out how the department will deliver on the government's development assistance strategy, 'Tackling Global Challenges in the National Interest', and focuses on five pillars: peace, planet, prosperity, people and partnerships.
In a first, DFID included a section on its role in supporting the multilateral system and includes goals on driving a more effective and efficient UN system, ensuring multilateral development banks assist fragile states and establishing a future partnership with the EU on development.
Climate change is given far greater prominence within the revised plan, with a new goal to ensure UK development assistance limits future growth in harmful greenhouse gases. New stand-alone objectives have also been introduced on building UK partnerships with fast-growing economies, improving international and domestic capital and currency markets, supporting the advancement of women's economic empowerment and, increasing the level and impact of investment and sustainable finance available to the poorest countries. Education is given greater attention with a drive to improve quality and access and with a new emphasis on focusing on UK-led development to tackle global health challenges.
Single Departmental Plan - DFID
United Kingdom Education Global health R&D
UK to fund world's biggest education technology research center
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) will provide £20 million (US$26 million) for an eight-year project to explore how to harness the potential of education technology to improve learning outcomes in low-income countries.
The new EdTech Hub is being funded in partnership with the World Bank and boasts a long list of partners including the University of Cambridge, the Overseas Development Institute, Results for Development, Brink, Jigsaw, Open Development and Education, INJINI, Afrilabs, e-Learning Africa, and BRAC.
Web Articles - DEVEX
Press release - DFID
United Kingdom Education
Canada pledges US$4 million to Sierra Leone education project
Maryam Monsef, Canada's minister of international development and minister for women and gender equality, announced a US$4 million contribution to support CODE's Transforming Girls' Education project. The project is expected to benefit over 60,000 students in Sierra Leone.
The aim of the project is to improve the quality of education for vulnerable children in Sierra Leone and to reduce barriers to education for vulnerable preteen and teenage girls in primary schools, by providing gender-responsive pedagogy training to 200 teachers in four teaching colleges in Sierra Leone.
The funding is part of a previous US$308 million commitment Canada made in support of the G7 Charlevoix Declaration on Quality Education for Girls, Adolescent Girls, and Women in Developing Countries.
Press release- Global Affairs Canada
Japan announces educational grant assistance to Bhutan
On June 19, 2019, Japanese ambassador Kenji Hiramatsu announced ¥174 million (US$2 million) human resource development scholarship program with the government of Bhutan. The funding will support higher education access for young government officials in Bhutan.
Press release - MOFA(in Japanese)