Policy Updates

On May 7, 2024, Norad presented the statistics on Norwegian development assistance in 2023, showing that Norwegian ODA reached a record high of NOK58.6 billion (US$5.4 billion), an increase of 18% or NOK9 billion (US$832 million) compared to 2022.

ODA increased in all regions, significantly affected by the one-time additional allocation of NOK5 billion (US$462 million) to LICs particularly affected by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

By region, the largest increase in ODA was to Europe. In total, European countries received NOK9.1 billion (US$842 million) in funding. Of the total European allocation, the largest share of funding went to Ukraine and Moldova. The funding to Ukraine in 2023 stood at NOK7.9 billion (US$730 million).

Development assistance to the African continent increased by NOK2.5 billion (US$321 million), reaching a total of NOK10.2 billion (US$943 million). Africa remains the region receiving the most development assistance from Norway. The increase in funding to Africa is explained by long-term assistance to agriculture, fisheries, food security and emergency relief.

Development assistance to the Middle East increased by over NOK1 billion (US$92 million), reaching NOK3.8 billion (US$351 million) in 2023. The increase was almost exclusively in emergency assistance. Palestine was the second-largest recipient of Norwegian development assistance in 2023, receiving NOK1.2 billion (US$111 million). The majority of the funding was given as humanitarian assistance and emergency relief.

By partner, multilateral organizations were the largest partner group for Norwegian ODA, followed by CSOs and the public sector. Multilaterals received NOK31.7 billion (US$2.9 billion) in 2023, an increase of NOK6.3 billion (US$582 billion) from 2022. CSOs received NOK13.2 billion (US$1.2 billion) in 2023, compared to NOK10.3 billion (US$952 million) in 2022.

The World Bank Group was the largest partner with NOK7.4 billion (US$684 million) in 2023, of which slightly over one-fifth was core support. The WFP was the second-largest recipient with NOK2.4 billion (US$222 million), approximately half of which was earmarked for emergency relief. Overall, multilateral organizations were the dominant partner group for Norwegian health assistance, with over 80% being channeled through multilateral partners in 2023.

By sector, emergency relief and multisectoral support saw the largest growth from 2022 to 2023, while there was a decrease in refugee expenses and earmarked assistance for education.

ODA to agriculture, fisheries, and food security significantly increased from NOK3.9 billion (US$360 million) in 2022 to NOK6.4 billion (US$592 million) in 2023. Most of the increase of NOK2.5 billion (US$231 million) was funded by the one-time funding package for LICs particularly affected by Russia's war against Ukraine.

Total Norwegian ODA to health stood at NOK6.5 billion (US$601 million) in 2023, up from NOK6.3 billion (US$582 million) in 2022. This is significantly lower than in 2020 and 2021, when development assistance globally was influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Between 2014 and 2023, health assistance slightly increased when measured in 2024 prices, from NOK4.7 billion (US$434 million) in 2014. The largest partners in health assistance in 2023 were Gavi at NOK1.5 billion (US$138 million), UNFPA at NOK1.1 billion (US$101 million) and the WHO at NOK687 million (US$63.5 million). Of the earmarked health ODA, totaling NOK3.5 billion (US$323 million) in 2023, 58% went to programs targeting LICs not geographically earmarked. Africa received the most of the geographically earmarked health support, with around NOK600 million (US$55.5 million).

In 2023, NOK1.7 billion (US$157 million) went to SRHR, down from NOK1.8 billion (US$166 million) in 2022. Multilateral organizations, an important partner group in Norwegian SRHR efforts, received 51% of the earmarked support in addition to the calculated core support, totaling 81% of SRHR support. UNFPA was the largest individual partner and received nearly half of total SRHR support.

On March 28, 2024, the IPCI/IPCD announced that IPCI 2024 would be held on April 10-12, 2024, in Oslo, Norway.

The event marks the 30^th anniversary of the Cairo Conference, where both women and sexual rights became part of the parliamentarians’ agenda. The ICPD or Cairo Conference was a ten-day conference held in November 1994, where representatives of the nations of the world discussed the future of the world’s population.

The 8^th IPCI will gather around 200 parliamentarians, ministers, UN experts, civil society leaders and other stakeholders.

The conference agenda includes on the following topics:

• How global trends such as demographic diversity and the climate crisis impacts the ability to achieve universal access to SRHR;
• The impact of the growing threat of digital violence on women leaders; and
• The challenges facing the funding landscape for SRHR as governments’ priorities come under threat from security concerns.

During the conference, Norway is also expected to announce its core contribution to UNFPA, one of Norway’s key partners in the fight for women’s and young people’s health and rights.

On October 30, 2023, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched a new action plan for women's rights and gender equality in Norway's 2023-2030 foreign and development policy.

The action plan signaled equality as a priority within Norwegian foreign affairs. It underlined Norway's beliefs on the importance of strengthening women's rights in biodiversity conservation, sustainable management of natural resources, climate adaptation, and food security.

The plan stated that at least 50% of all bilateral development funding must have gender equality as a major or minor goal. The plan also stated that gender equality must be assessed across all development policy initiatives, particularly within the topics of climate, energy, and food security.

The five main tenets of the action plan were:

• Everyone has the right and opportunity to decide on their own body;
• Everyone has the right and opportunity to live their lives free of violence and harmful customs;
• Everyone has equal economic rights and opportunities to participate in working life;
• Everyone has equal political rights and opportunities to participate in public life; and
• Everyone has the right and opportunity to participate in the work for climate, energy, and food security.

Minister of International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim expressed concerns over a growing opposition to women and girls having agency over their future. Several measures in the action plan are hoped to contribute to increase the international acceptance of SRHR, access to contraceptives and safe abortion, and sexuality education. Tvinnereim noted that it is more important than ever for Norway and other development actors support SRHR. She asserted that Norway will continue to be a global champion for girls and women, and that no one shall be subjected to GBV, child or forced marriage, or genital mutilation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norad, and the Norwegian foreign service must report annually on the plan's targets. The foreign service, which includes actors who manage Norwegian foreign and development policy funds, are responsible for implementing the action plan. A midterm review of the targets is planned for 2026, and an evaluation is planned for 2029. A new action plan for SRHR is to be presented in 2030.

On October 16, 2023, the governments of Norway and Ghana, alongside the UNFPA, launched the Equity 2030 Alliance, an initiative to employ data-driven strategies to create women-focused and gender-inclusive health solutions by 2030.

The initiative was launched at the WHS 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The BMZ was also listed as a member.

Speakers at the event noted that evidence shows that despite substantial recent progress in innovation and technology, many technological advancements do not address the needs of all populations. The absence of women in the design of global health innovations have often produced gender-blind solutions, particularly disadvantaging women. They promoted an ultimate goal to cultivate gender-equitable solutions for women's health with direct input from women, fostering economic growth and equality.