High-profile causes, silent suffering, major dilemma
SolidarMed’s Annual General Meeting not only took a look back at the successes of 2023. Building on the political debate around the co-financing of Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, the subsequent discussion revolved around fairness when it comes to supporting those in need.
As SolidarMed Vice President Bernadette Peterhans said when summarising the dilemma in this area, fairness is always a matter of opinion. How do we as a society decide whom we do and don’t support? Bernadette Peterhans took part in the debate on high-profile humanitarian causes, silent suffering and fairness, alongside Barbara Kruspan, Country Director of SolidarMed Mozambique. Kruspan effectively described the dilemma in a country affected by silent need, where international companies extract mineral resources while the population lives in extreme poverty with little or no access to basic healthcare.
As well as Barbara Kruspan, Andreas Missbach, chief executive of Alliance Sud, and Bernhard Steiner, SVP cantonal councillor and paediatrician, also contributed to the discussion. The UN requires member states to invest 0.7% of their gross domestic product in development cooperation but Switzerland has fallen short of this target for years. At this point, moderator and former editor-in-chief of Luzerner Zeitung, Jer Jérôme Martinu joined the discussion. The conflicting priorities between high-profile causes and neglected crises quickly became clear. Barbara Kruspan pointed out that it’s difficult to attribute funding to one crisis or another. “For me it’s a question of fairness that we recognise that we benefit from poor countries,” she said, referring to Mozambique’s gas, gemstone and graphite resources, which do not benefit the local population. As she sees it, international cooperation is a way for the Global North to give something back.
Meanwhile, Bernhard Steiner had a different take, arguing that recipient countries should give something back as they at least owe it to donor countries to honour agreements. Andreas Missbach then retorted that every child’s life saved is a good investment. Barbara Kruspan was keen to stress that savings shouldn’t be made on the back of the Global South. Closing the debate, she said “we have to keep our hearts open and remember that there is a world out there that’s very different to ours in Switzerland.” Cuts to aid for those suffering in neglected crises, particularly for people in poverty-stricken Mozambique, could have a devastating impact on people on the ground.
Impending budget cuts – including for SolidarMed
The Federal Council adopted the Dispatch on the International Cooperation Strategy 2025–28 in mid-May this year. It sets out Switzerland’s continued commitment to Ukraine, earmarking CHF 1.5 billion in aid to the detriment of the Global South. The Council of States also decided in June that half of the CHF 4 billion for the increase in army spending would come from cuts to the international cooperation (IC) budget. If all these cuts go ahead, the IC budget of Alliance Sud would shrink by a third. According to a statement, the CHF 500 million a year that would be lost is much more than Switzerland’s entire support for Africa. We will have to wait until the
autumn for Parliament’s decision.
SolidarMed supports the #MehrSolidaritätJetzt campaign by Alliance Sud.
Summer party 2024
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