Transcript Norwegian Development Policy

Chr. Michelsen Institute
Development for what?
Major questions
• What is development, - limited to economic
development or something more? – is it
neutral?
• Our language does it promote development
• Will development in itself generate justice,
peace and harmony – a just world - or is
more needed?
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• Eighty per cent of the world's gross domestic product belongs to the
1 billion people living in the developed world; the remaining 20 per
cent is shared by the 5 billion people living in developing countries.
• The global employment situation is characterized by extreme
inequality. Some 186 million people were unemployed in 2003,
accounting for 6.2 per cent of the total working population, up from
140 million a decade earlier, when the percentage was 5.6. Much of
the developing world has experienced high and even rising
unemployment.
• In many parts of the world, persistently high levels of poverty are at
least partly attributable to inadequate incomes. The proportion of the
world's population living in extreme poverty declined from 40 to 21
per cent between 1981 and 2001.
• In spite of the compelling case for redressing inequality, economic
and non-economic inequalities have actually increased in many
parts of the world, and many forms of inequality have become more
profound and complex in recent decades.
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• The HIV/AIDS epidemic has deepened both economic and noneconomic inequalities. The situation is particularly alarming in subSaharan Africa, and the contribution of HIV/AIDS to the widening
differentials in life expectancy across countries and world regions.
• Gender dimensions are deeply embedded in observed inequalities.
There are persistent gender gaps in access to education, decent
employment, and fair and equal remuneration.
• High levels of military spending have impeded the progress of social
development, as those countries that allocate a substantial share of total
government expenditure to the defence sector also tend to reserve the
lowest portion of the budget for the social sectors.
Focusing exclusively on economic growth and income generation as a
development strategy is ineffective, as it leads to the accumulation of
wealth by a few and deepens the poverty of many; such an approach
does not acknowledge the intergenerational transmission of poverty.
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Norwegian Development Policy
Hald February 06
Arne Strand
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Main goal
The main goal of Norwegian development
cooperation is to contribute towards
lasting improvements in the
economic, social and political
conditions under which people live in
developing countries, with special
emphasis on assistance which benefits
the poorest sector of the community.
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Political or neutral?
• Norwegian development policy strives to be
neutral, but still rights conditioned. Sanctions/
withdrawal of aid used if basic rights not
fulfilled. Strategy to further Norwegian
business interests, but not as a condition for
assitance.
• Other differ, ie USAID is to primarily further
US interests worldwide through development.
• Japanese assistance, - Toyota and Sony…
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Moral obligation
As one of the richest countries in the
world, Norway has a moral obligation to
alleviate suffering and promote humane
living conditions in other parts of the
world.
Norad web page 2004
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MFA AND NORAD
• The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)
administrates long-term government-to-government
development cooperation with over to 20 countries in Africa,
Asia and Central America.
• The Ministry is responsible for the formulation of development
policy and adopts strategies for cooperation with individual
countries. The Ministry also administrates Norway's multilateral
development cooperation and Norwegian disaster relief, and is
politically and technically responsible for Norwegian
development cooperation.
• The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation
(NORAD) will concentrate on giving advice and being a good
dialogue partner in the development cooperation. It will also give
financial support to Norwegian non-governmental organisations.
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Partners
Partners in cooperation and beneficiaries
of development cooperation are first
and foremost the central government
and local authorities, civil society
and the business sector. These are
responsible for the administration of
Norwegian development funds - and
thus responsibility for development in
their own country rests with them.
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5 main goals
Five main goals of Norwegian development cooperation:
• To combat poverty and contribute towards lasting
improvements in living standards and quality of life, thereby
promoting greater social and economic development and justice
nationally, regionally and globally. In such development, priority
must be given to employment, health and education.
• To contribute towards promoting peace, democracy and
human rights.
• To promote responsible management and utilisation of the
global environment and biological diversity.
• To contribute towards preventing hardship and alleviating
distress arising from conflicts and natural disasters.
• To contribute towards promoting equal rights and
opportunities for women and men in all areas of society.
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Main Partner Countries
Africa
• Malawi
• Mozambique
• Tanzania
• Uganda
• Zambia
Asia
• Bangladesh
• Nepal
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Other Partner Countries
Africa
• Angola
• Eritrea
• Ethiopia
• Kenya
• Madagaskar
• Mali
• Nigeria
• South Africa
Latin America
• Guatemala
• Nicaragua
Asia
• Afghanistan
• Indonesia
• China
• East Timor
• Pakistan
• The Palestinian Areas
• Sri Lanka
• Vietnam
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Funding
The gross value of Norwegian assistance
including administrative costs, totalled
NOK 14.5 billions in 2003 (equals 2, 1
billion US dollars)
This constituted 0.92 per cent of Norway’s
Gross National Income (GNI).
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Development assitance
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Assitance per region
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10 largest recipients
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Target areas
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Fredskorpset
Fredskorpset believes “partnership for
development” is the way to strengthen
understanding between North and
South in a globalised world and to
increase expertise in international
questions.
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Goal
Fredskorpset shall help to implement the overarching objectives for
Norway’s cooperation with the developing countries: to
contribute to permanent improvements in economic, social
and political conditions for the people of developing
countries, with special emphasis on aid benefiting the
poorest of the poor.
To this end, Fredskorpset shall work particularly to realise the
objective of a more just world order based on fundamental
human rights.
With a view to this, Fredskorpset shall contribute to the creation of
contact and cooperation between individuals, organisations and
institutions in Norway and in the developing countries, based on
solidarity, equality and reciprocity.
The funds of Fredskorpset shall go to measures directed to
countries that are classified by the OECD as potential recipients
of official development aid (the ODA countries). Of this, at least
half shall go to measures that include the Least Developed
Countries (LDCs).
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What is partnership?
• Partnership is about organisations working together
to achieve results
• Partnership is long-term involvement from the two
sides
• Partnership is about defining roles and
responsibilities
of the two organisations
• Partnership is about trust, respect, integrity,
accountability and equality
• The implication of the partnership co-operation
should be that the two organisations should be
more competent in reaching their goals
•
Extract from Jørn Lemvik (2001) Partnership-Guidelines for a New Deal, NCA Occasional Paper Series
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Groupwork
Examine the Norwegian Development Goals
and
a) identify and rank the 2 development Goals
you are most comfortable with, and
b) the Goal you regard as most challenging to
address.
And, from your viewpoint, is Norway’s
development and peacebuilding efforts
purely humanitarian and politically neutral –
or are they seen to serve Norwegian
purposes?