Editorial
"Development cooperation is about helping people to help themselves. It is values-oriented but it is also guided by interests."
German Development Minister Dirk Niebel
Dear Readers,
2010 has begun – time for a first look at our development policy plans for the year ahead. Successful practices will be continued, but we also plan to make some changes. We want to make German development policy even more efficient, to raise its visibility and achieve better interaction between the ministries that are "relevant" for development – and we also want to urge our partner countries to step up their own efforts with a view to more efficiency and cooperation. One topic that continues to be a matter of great urgency – in addition to fighting poverty, hunger and acute need – is dealing with climate change. It is an issue where success can only be achieved if the developing countries are included and receive massive support. Read more about these two topics in this Newsletter, and also many other items of news relating to the work of the BMZ.
We wish you every success in the New Year!
Your BMZ Internet Editors
2010: New focus for development policy
German Development Minister Dirk Niebel made it clear at the start of the new year what the future parameters for the work of the BMZ will be. The BMZ will definitely remain an independent ministry. However, the way in which it interacts with other government departments is to be improved. The Minister emphasised that more weight would have to be given in future to economic cooperation with Germany’s numerous partner countries. Poverty reduction will nevertheless continue to be the Ministry’s core task. Minister Niebel sees assistance for climate protection measures in the developing countries as one of the particular challenges for the time ahead. He explicitly confirmed the new government’s goal of increasing development cooperation funding to 0.7 per cent of gross national income by 2015. In addition, the various BMZ implementing organisations for Technical Cooperation will soon be reorganised and regrouped.
BMZ increases aid for climate protection
German Development Minister Dirk Niebel, who participated in the climate summit in Copenhagen, called the results "disappointing". Now it was time to secure the progress that had been made, he said. The BMZ has already decided what it will do: support for partner countries will be increased – provided they themselves also work on limiting their greenhouse gas emissions and on pushing forward with efforts to adapt to climate change. During a meeting with World Bank Vice President Kathy Sierra, Niebel signed an agreement for Germany to contribute 50 million euros to the Bank’s Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience. At a meeting between Development Minister Niebel, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and heads of state and government from eight Pacific Island States, Niebel announced that the regional programme "Managing the impact of climate change on land resources in the Pacific" would receive a further ten million euros.
Development Policy Media Prize awarded for the 34th time
In December 2009, German Development Minister Dirk Niebel presented the Development Policy Media Prize. At the ceremony to present the prizes to the seven authors selected this year, Minister Niebel emphasised that their work helped people "to see the connections that are important in making us One World". The Prize is an annual award worth a total of 15,000 euros. It is given for journalistic work of exceptional quality that sharpens public awareness regarding the importance of development policy.
42 per cent of Germans support spending more on development aid
The German population still sees development cooperation as an important political task – despite the financial crisis. In a new survey conducted by the opinion research institute Infratest dimap, 42 per cent of those surveyed were in favour of further increasing spending on development cooperation. 56 per cent were of the opinion that more needed to be done to make German development assistance more well known abroad and to raise its visibility. The majority (76 per cent) of those surveyed also felt that German Development Minister Dirk Niebel was right to say that China, a country with a strong economy, should no longer receive development aid.
Information requests get good response from BMZ
How fast, good and personal are the responses from government ministries to requests for information from German citizens? That was the question the information platform politik-digital.de sought to answer in a recent survey. The results of the survey placed the BMZ at the top of the list. Particularly in the category "difficult requests for information" the BMZ was ahead of other ministries in terms of the speed of the response and the quality of the information provided. For the survey, requests for information were sent to federal ministries by post, fax and e-mail and the replies received were evaluated.
Corruption is an obstacle to development, says Minister Niebel
Speaking on the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December 2009, German Development Minister Dirk Niebel said: "Corruption is a major obstacle to development. It erodes the efficient functioning of public institutions. It puts off investors by creating legal uncertainty, distorting marketplace competition and causing costs to rise. It also undermines democratic structures and the rule of law. Poor people, women and children are worst hit. Corruption makes it much harder and more expensive for them to access public services and resources. That is unacceptable." more
Committed efforts that reached people and opened up new horizons
The German reconstruction effort following the devastating tsunami disaster on 26 December 2004, which claimed more than 230,000 lives and left 1.7 million people without a roof over their heads, has come to an end. German Development Minister Dirk Niebel is happy with the outcome. "Germany was able to provide quick, professional assistance with a government aid package worth 500 million euros." more
DIY development policy – the BMZ can help
"Have you ever had the feeling the world would be a better place if you were given a go?" This question was at the heart of a campaign that the BMZ launched in December in an effort to get members of the German public interested in being actively involved in development efforts. A new section on the BMZ website informs interested citizens about the wide range of possibilities for people to make a difference by getting personally involved in development activities – instead of just leaving it all to the government. Speaking at the launch of the campaign, German Development Minister Dirk Niebel said: "Each and every one of us has a part to play in making our world One World. Looking at issues such as world poverty, climate change, wars and resource protection makes people think about what could be done for a fairer world. And if many people join forces in order to make a difference through concerted efforts – then much of what is impossible for the individual suddenly becomes possible."
German Development Ministry’s budget grows despite financial crisis
The Cabinet voted today on the government’s draft for the 2010 federal budget. The draft budget envisages a total of 5.881 billion euros for the BMZ in 2010. This means that the German government has increased the development budget by a further 44 million euros compared with the draft put together by the previous government in June this year. The additional funds are to be used to finance food security programmes in needy countries as pledged by the Federal Chancellor at the G8 summit in L’Aquila in July this year. more
Development Ministry supports World Food Programme
German Development Minister Dirk Niebel has committed 3.8 million euros to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) for a Fund that enables WFP to provide quick assistance to needy and hungry people in crises and emergencies. This brings the German Development Ministry's total commitments for WFP in 2009 to more than 92 million euros. more