The German Minister for Development, Riem Al-Abdali Radwan, in his recent speech in the lower house, warned that millions of people are currently facing hunger due to global crises including floods in Nepal, heatwaves, and lack of rainfall. He emphasized that the climate crisis threatens the entire world and no country can tackle it alone.
Ongoing Budget Cuts
Radwan, at the beginning of the discussion about the federal government's proposed budget for 2027, referred to the reduction in the budget of this ministry. The budget of this ministry has decreased for the fifth consecutive year, dropping from just over 10 billion euros to less than 9.5 billion euros. In 2022, this budget was nearly 14 billion euros and has since decreased by about one third.
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Reactions to Budget Cuts
Relief organizations have expressed doubt about this policy change, and their concerns have increased in light of the recent budget cuts. Michael Hurst from the organization Venro, which represents around 150 development and humanitarian NGOs, said: "The further reduction in the budget for international cooperation exacerbates the current critical situation." He also pointed to the halt in humanitarian aid and called for a change in the budget trajectory.
Hurst also emphasized that the budget cuts will have significant impacts on aid projects and predicted that the number of people benefiting from aid will significantly decrease.
Security and Financial Challenges
The budget cuts across all ministries are part of new financial policies implemented following the Ukraine war. In this context, Germany is moving towards increasing its defense budget while other ministries face severe budget reductions.
Jamila Schaefer, a parliament representative from the Green Party, emphasized the importance of investing in international cooperation and climate actions during the discussion on the development ministry's budget. She stated: "Security is not achieved solely by investing in the defense budget."
Finally, Jan Sebastian Friedrich-Rast, who is responsible for the humanitarian and development organization Action Against Hunger, described the planned cuts to the 2027 budget as short-sighted and dangerous, warning that this decision could lead to the deaths of up to 22.6 million people globally by 2030.
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