Netherlands
Nederland
Geographic Priorities
Development cooperation is one of the most prominent pillars of Dutch Foreign Policy. Dutch development assistance is headed by a Minister for Development Cooperation, but unlike most other donors, the Netherlands does not have a separate Ministry or Agency in charge of development cooperation. The Foreign Ministry’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation is responsible for the formulation, co-ordination, implementation and funding of Dutch development assistance, while Regional and Policy Theme Departments are in charge of geographic and thematic programmes. More responsibilities have been delegated to Dutch embassies in recent years to organise and implement Dutch bilateral aid. Most embassies have staff specifically dedicated to the priority areas supported by Dutch development cooperation, such as Health and Gender Sector Specialists.
In 2007, October 2007 the Minister for Development Cooperation presented Netherlands’s development policy, ‘Our Common Concern: investing in development in a changing world’. Four priorities were identified:
- Security and development (fragile states)
- Growth and equity
- A greater focus on equal rights and opportunities for women and sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR)
- Sustainability, climate and energy
Sectors like education, health, HIV/AIDS, water, environment, private sector development and good governance are also key to Dutch development cooperation.
The Netherlands has a structural development relationship with 36 partner countries. Substantial aid is also given to four other countries in conflict or in a post-conflict situation: Sudan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kosovo.
Partner countries include:
- Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia
- Asia: Afghanistan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Georgia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Yemen
- Europe: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldavia
- Latin America: Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Suriname
The Netherlands’ development relationship with Albania, Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Eritrea, Macedonia and Sri Lanka will be phased out over the next few years.
In 2010, the Netherlands will continue to adhere to the international agreement to reserve 0.8% of GNI for development cooperation. However, the Netherlands plans to cut spending by €600 million in 2010. Funding for programmes which reduce infant and maternal mortality will not be affected by these cuts.
Bilateral programmes run by embassies will be cut back by €140 million in 2010. Priority fragile states such as Afghanistan and Burundi will not be affected. Tanzania, Zambia and Mali will see their budget reduced by 12%.
Budget cuts will be made to joint programmes with multilateral agencies and funding for civil society organisations will also be reduced.
The framework for Dutch bilateral cooperation is defined by national development agendas, in particular Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs). With regards to bilateral approaches and instruments, the Dutch government offers budget support to selected partner governments and was one of the first donors to support sector-wide approaches (SWAps).
Within the EU, the Netherlands has been actively involved in enhancing the coherence of European foreign and development policy and to improve the effectiveness of European aid. The Dutch government is also a vocal supporter of SRHR at the European level and has urged fellow European nations to step up their support.
The Dutch government channels approximately a third of its development aid through multilateral organisations. The importance that the Dutch government attaches to the UN is highlighted by the fact that the Netherlands is the second-largest donor to the UN agencies, spending €351 million in 2004. Other multilateral recipients of Dutch ODA are the World Bank Group (€428 million), the European Commission (€301 million), and Regional Development Banks (€57 million).
Support for SRHR and HIV/AIDS activities
The Dutch government views improvements in SRHR as crucial for achieving real progress on the MDGs and the fight against HIV/AIDS. The ICPD Programme of Action is one of the key priorities of Dutch bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
Dutch development cooperation has embraced a broad approach to SRHR, combining support for health care, sex education and contraceptives (including female condoms and microbicides). The objectives of the Dutch government in the field of SRHR are:
- Giving people the choice to decide freely on the number of their children
- Reducing maternal deaths during pregnancy and childbirth
- Reducing new HIV infections, especially among adolescents
- Expanding access to prevention, care and treatment for HIV/AIDS
- Improving the reproductive rights of women and children
The 2007 ‘Pact of Schokland’ was one of the ten plans of the Dutch government designed to be a new impulse for the MDGs. This dual partnership between civil society and the private sector steadily increased resources for MDG 5. Other measures set out included reducing the price of the female condom and development of heat-resistant oxytocin to tackle haemorrhaging during childbirth.
With regards to gender issues, the Netherlands promotes the position of women in its bilateral and multilateral cooperation and through support for relevant NGOs. The Netherlands promotes gender mainstreaming and offers credible poverty reduction strategies such as microcredit programmes available to women.
The Netherlands supports the ‘Universal Access to the Female Condom Joint Programme’(UAFC). This programme is in-line with Dutch policy on HIV/AIDS and SRHR. An investment of €5 million is being made to bring an affordable female condom onto the market.
In Ethiopia where the level of assistance in childbirth is so low, the Netherlands supports a government programme to train 30,000 health workers. In 2009, the Netherlands also decided to increase the Dutch contribution to UNFPA for the distribution of health commodities from €5 million to €30 million per year.
Dutch policies on HIV/AIDS are closely linked to the country’s SRHR strategy. The government stresses access to information and contraception as key to preventing HIV transmission. The Netherlands is supporting the development of new prevention methods such as microbicides and vaccines and aims to increase the availability of safe contraceptives such as condoms.
Bilaterally, the Dutch government supports national governments to develop integrated SRHR and HIV/AIDS strategies and to strengthen existing health systems. Most support for SRHR and HIV/AIDS projects is channelled through multilateral organisations as well as Dutch, international and local NGOs. For example, the Netherlands supports public sex education campaigns and the distribution of condoms for young people, training sessions for medical staff and midwives, safe abortions, and treatment to women suffering from female genital mutilation (FGM).
The Netherlands is by far the largest donor country of funds for SRHR and HIV/AIDS. In 2008, the Netherlands contributed €38 million to UNAIDS, €1.2 million to UNIFEM and was also the largest contributor to the UNFPA budget, donating around €59 million. The Netherlands was also the second highest contributor to the UNDP in 2007.
Co-operation with NGOs
Strong cooperation with civil society actors is one of the most prominent features of Dutch development cooperation, with around 25% of Dutch ODA currently channelled through NGOs.
The Netherlands does not limit its support to CSOs but extends it to social organisations such as local initiatives and organisations.
In 2009, the Netherlands adopted a memorandum "Working together, made-to-measure, added-value" which contained the new policy directions for Dutch and Southern NGOs and formed part of the broader modernization agenda for development.
The Netherlands co-finances organisations under its co-financing programmes for implementing development projects in Dutch partner countries in close cooperation with local partners.1
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1 Contact information can be found in the NGO Platform Contact Information section of this Guide.
Sources
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
OECD Development Assistance Committee: DAC Peer Review the Netherlands (2006)