Poland, which was a recipient of international aid in the 1990s, has now become a donor. In 1996, it joined the OECD and in 2004 became a member of the European Union (EU), a group of countries providing more than half of global Official Development Assistance (ODA). EU membership raises the expectations of Poland as an aid donor and binds it to common objectives and principles of development assistance. Poland now also orients its development co-operation policy along universal standards such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Events in late 2004 and early 2005, notably the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the humanitarian disaster in south-east Asia, demonstrated that Polish assistance – and its knowledge and experience gained in its own process of political and economic transition – is needed both across the border and in remote countries. Influenced by these factors, a new strategy is being designed for the period of 2007–2013. First drafts appeared in November 2006.

Nevertheless, Poland’s future strategy document will draw on the strategy for development co-operation adopted in October 2003 by the Council of Ministers. This strategy defines the main goals, principles and mechanisms of development assistance. The primary objective of Poland’s development co-operation is to help recipient countries achieve sustainable development and reduce poverty through:

• supporting sustainable economic growth;
• building respect for human rights, democracy, the rule of law and the principles of good governance;
• promoting global security and stability;
• developing human resources;
• supporting the development of public administration and local structures;
• protecting the natural environment and preventing ecological disasters; as well as
• providing emergency humanitarian aid and food aid.

Poland’s development assistance is delivered through three main channels, each managed by a different government institution. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in charge of policy setting, co-ordination of aid activities, programming and delivery of development cooperation assistance. Since September 2005, this has been handled by the Development Co-operation department. The department is responsible for planning and providing Polish foreign assistance and development assistance. It prepares calls for proposals for non-government organisations (NGOs), monitors projects implementation and decides on the implementation of projects by government agencies. It is being enlarged due to the increasing number of tasks related to development assistance, its co-ordination and the need for consistency.

The Ministry of Finance is responsible for financial aid in the form of preferential credits, foreign debt relief and co-funding of the operations of international financial institutions, and the Ministry of National Education and Sport Education provides assistance through scholarships for students from poorer countries studying in Poland.

Poland’s integration with the EU has also influenced the volume of its development assistance. Since 2004, Poland’s membership contribution fee has co-financed EU assistance activities in a number of regions of the world and this has helped to bring Poland’s total development assistance level up to € 94.3 million or 0.05% of its gross national income (GNI) in 2004. The following year, ODA increased to € 181.2 million. Moreover, in May 2005, together with the other new EU Member States, Poland agreed to increase ODA so that it reaches 0.17% of GNI by 2010 and 0.33% in 2015.

In 2004, € 20.02 million was devoted to bilateral ODA, about 21% of total ODA. The areas of focus of bilateral Polish development assistance are the following:

• Health sector
• Education and science
• Access to potable water
• Protection of the environment
• Capacity building of local structures
• Building civil society
• Support for democratic institutions
• Improvement of public administration efficiency
• Development of cross-border co-operation
• Restructuring of individual economic sectors.

In 2005, the list of priority countries for Polish development co-operation included: Afghanistan, Angola, Palestinian autonomy, Georgia, Iraq, Moldova, and Vietnam. In 2005, Poland also provided support for countries in transition and subsidised the activities of Polish NGOs and government agencies involved in, among others, Belarus and Ukraine.

Poland directs € 74.47 million of development assistance through multilateral channels. These are composed of obligatory and voluntary contributions. Most of the money goes to the European Community (€ 61.52 million) and the rest to UN agencies, the World Bank group and other agencies.

Voluntary payments into multilateral funds and aid programmes are made from an earmarked budgetary reserve at the disposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2005, they amounted to US$ 255,000 compared to US$ 180,000 in 2004 and 2003. They were allocated to the accounts of the following organisations and programmes: ONCHR; the Trust Fund for Security of UN Personnel; the International Committee of the Red Cross; UNAIDS; the Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria; UNICEF; the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control; UNRWA; UNDP; IOM; UNDOC; UNITAR; IHF and UNFPA.

As a part of its overall assistance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also supports some projects concerning HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS prevention, health care for people living with AIDS, health education and social integration of HIV-positive people are the main aims of the projects funded by Polish Aid. Over € 230,000 was spent in 2006 on these projects (including three projects in Kenya, two each in Tanzania and Angola, and one in Senegal). Most of the projects receive financial assistance within the framework of the Small Grants Fund. Multilaterally, in 2004, Poland contributed US$ 28,000 to the UNFPA budget. UNAIDS received US$ 20000 in 2005 which lifted the amount donated since 2002 to US$ 100,000.

NGOs are one of the main partners of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the development and execution of annual assistance plans. Current contacts to NGOs are made through the Zagranica Group (a platform of 40 organisations working abroad).

Every year, the ministry announces several calls for proposals directed at NGOs. In 2004, the total amount of funds provided in this way was € 331,000; in 2005 it reached more than € 2.49 million, and in 2006 it reached € 7.77 million. There was also an increase in the number of organisations that implemented projects co-financed in this way.

An important instrument of co-operation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NGOs is the Council for Co-operation with NGOs at the ministry, which was inaugurated in January 2003. It is a forum on which views on the trends and priorities of Polish foreign policy are exchanged. The council’s members include: Caritas Polska; the Centre for International Relations; the Stefan Batory Foundation; the Institute of Public Affairs; the Polish-American Freedom Foundation; the ’Dom Europejski’ Association; the ’Pro Europa’ Association; the Polish Red Cross; the Foundation in Support of Local Democracy; and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.

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Bagiński, Pawel, Head of Development Policy and Programming Unit, Development Co-operation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Poland's Development Co-operation, 2004 Annual Report, September 2005

Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Development Co-operation department