On Tuesday, 15 July, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, took voluntary contributions to various international organisations, programmes, funds, and other entities to the Council of Ministers. These contributions, totalling nearly 62 million euros, are intended to reinforce multilateral efforts through the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
The main partners will include countries at different stages of development, regional integration bodies, and other international institutions. The aim is to address challenges such as food security and agriculture, humanitarian aid, climate change, and multilateral responses. The package approved today complements two others previously approved through the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), with the aim of accelerating support to multilateral development and humanitarian organisations in a particularly challenging year due to budget cutbacks in various bodies. So far this year, disbursements exceeding 150 million euros have been approved for a total of 42 multilateral organisations.
Among the main recipients are the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), to which Spain will allocate 2.6 million euros aimed at supporting children and their mothers in developing countries; and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which will receive 4.3 million euros to promote universal access to sexual and reproductive health, the effective exercise of reproductive rights, and the reduction of maternal mortality. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) will receive nearly 3 million euros to improve food production capacity, address risks of setbacks in food security, promote the transformation of food systems to more sustainable ones, and support the recognition of the right to food.
Equality and climate change
The largest amount corresponds to the Climate Adaptation Fund (AF), with 15 million euros, through which Spain fulfils its commitment to support developing countries in addressing climate change. Also highly significant are the nearly 5 million euros allocated to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women). In this way, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs strengthens its commitment to UN-Women to address persistent global gaps that hinder social, economic, and cultural opportunities in the field of gender equality.
The World Food Programme (WFP), with 900,000 euros; the World Health Organisation (WHO), with 250,000 euros; and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), with 100,000 euros, are also recipients of these voluntary contributions, which focus particularly on refugees. In this way, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will receive 6 million euros to sustain its economic viability and continue providing its services. Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will receive 850,000 euros, while the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) will be allocated 3.1 million euros to promote humane and orderly migration and to provide advice to both Governments and migrants.
The list of voluntary contributions is complemented by 4.375 million euros to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); 1.55 million euros to the International Labour Organisation (ILO); and 1.5 million euros to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), among others.
NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION