The Dutch Development Policy is under Great Pressure. The Funding for Almost Half of the 6,400 Projects Supported by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Expires This Year. Whether It Will Be Renewedwed is Still Uncleear.
Due to a cut or 2.4 Billion Euros and significant delays in New Subsidies, Thousands of Projects Are at Risk. Whether and When New Money Will Come is Unclear, Accordance to An Analysis by Investico.
The Lack of Money and Certainty Affects, For Example, Halo, An Organization That Clears Landmines in Ukraine. The same applies to organizations that lobby for the rights of women and lgbtqia+ people, and fact-checking organizations.
Organizations Such As Oxfam Novib, Stichting Research Multinational Enterprises (SOMO), and Both Ends are already Shrinking or having to discontinue ongoing programs.
The Current Subsidy Framework, with which the Netherlands Supports 3,800 organizations in AT Least 181 Countries, Expires After December. “From January 2026, there will be devastation: Organizations Will Shrink Severely or Even Disappear,” Says Marieke van Dijk, Department Manager at Oxfam Novib.
Sara Kinsbergen, Professor of Development Studies, Emphasizes That The Netherlands is Losing its Pioneering Role in Development Cooperation. “That not only meanly capital loss for organizations, but ultimately also that the people who depend on this aid will suffer,” She says.
The Departure of Outgoing Minister Caspar Veldkamp (Foreign Affairs) and Previously Minister Reinette Klever (Foreign Trade and Development Aid) does not make it any Easier. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wants To Publish the New subsidy frameworks “Early Next Year,” But Due to the Changing Ministers, The Exact Timing Remains Uncertain.