Development policy and humanitarian efforts
The world has made great progress in many areas. The Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015 was achieved. Never before have so many people had such good living conditions. And never before have so many had access to education and health services. However, the gap between those who are living in prosperity and those who are living in poverty keeps widening, and more and more people are in need of protection and humanitarian aid. Climate change and infectious diseases are not contained by national borders, and the challenges posed by migration are increasing.
Norway’s development policy is based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that were adopted by all UN member states in 2015. These goals provide the global framework for efforts to promote sustainable development, peace and justice by 2030.
Five areas are given priority in Norway’s development policy:
- Education
- Health
- Climate change, the environment and the oceans
- Private sector development, agriculture and renewable energy
- Humanitarian aid
Human rights, gender equality, climate change and the environment, and anti-corruption are cross-cutting issues.
Humanitarian aid and long-term development assistance must be coordinated. We will improve our chances of success if we focus on prevention and on reaching the most vulnerable groups. By doing so, we will also reduce the need for humanitarian aid in the future.
Development policy covers far more than just aid. Trade, investments, cooperation in fields such as technology development, research and culture, and efforts to strengthen the international legal order are equally important. This is why these areas are also an essential part of our policy.
Our aims
Norway will contribute to the efforts to:
- eradicate extreme poverty by 2030
- ensure good governance and respect for human rights for all by 2030
- promote rights-based implementation of the SDGs
- save lives, alleviate suffering and protect human dignity in humanitarian crises
- promote sustainable development and help to make countries independent of aid
Support for private sector development
Over the next ten years, one billion young people will be looking for work. The private sector provides nine out of ten jobs in developing countries. This is why support for private sector development, for example through Norfund, is an important part of Norwegian development cooperation.
Education for displaced children
59 million children and 65 million young people do not have access to school. A significant share of Norway’s support for education is used to provide schooling for children and young people who have been forced to flee their homes or who live in areas of conflict.
The oceans and marine litter
Some 80-90 % of marine plastics come from land-based sources. In 2018, Norway established a fund to help developing countries to develop waste management systems, increase their knowledge about marine litter and carry out efficient clean-up operations.
Current efforts
Norway is:
- promoting closer coordination between humanitarian relief and long-term development
- using aid to trigger private investments and create jobs
- strengthening humanitarian relief and long-term development in areas affected by fragility
- helping to enhance respect for women’s and girls’ rights
- intensifying efforts to promote girls’ education and education in situations of crisis and conflict, and to improve the quality of education
- playing a leading role in efforts to reduce child and maternal mortality, and to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other infectious diseases
- actively promoting more ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally
- investing in renewable energy with a view to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions
- providing around 1 % of GNI a year for development and humanitarian efforts
Combating illicit financial flows and corruption
National income generation, taxation, and combating illicit financial flows and corruption are far more important for development than aid. A number of analyses show that the impact of illicit financial flows and corruption may be more than USD 1 trillion a year. In comparison, global aid is around USD 140 billion.
Maternal and child health
Norway recognises the importance of education for maternal and child health. Girls who go to school and gain an education tend to marry and have children later. Education for girls and women is therefore crucial for improving maternal health and reducing child mortality.
Knowledge transfer
Norwegian expertise in the fields of natural resource management and taxation is increasingly sought after by developing countries, and we are happy to share it. We do so through the programmes Fish for Development, Oil for Development, and Tax for Development. In addition, the Digitalisation for Development programme was launched in 2018.
DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION WITH INDIA
Norway is no more involved in traditional country-to-country development assistance to India; that was closed down in 2003 – 2004. Still, according to official statistics, India is a substantial recipient of Norwegian development funds. During the 10 years 2007 - 2016, it varied annually between 101 and 216 mill. NOK with an average of 163 mill. NOK – equal to about USD 19.4 mill. Since 2000, India has normally been around no. 20 on the list of about 100 countries receiving development assistance from Norway.
Most of the development funds go to the two sectors Health and Research. The support to the health sector (the NIPI programme) is being phased out, leaving research as the main sector from 2018.
Other prioritized areas are Climate, Environment, Energy, Education, Gender equality and Culture.
Currently, the following programmes / projects in India are supported:
|
Programme / Project Title |
Partner |
Agr. no. |
|
Bioforsk - India - Climate Change Adaptation Programme |
Bioforsk |
IND-10/0017 |
|
DN-NBA Centre on Biodiversity Policy and Law (CeBPOL) |
DN - Direktoratet for Naturforvaltning |
IND-10/0048 |
|
Research Council - Agreement no 1 |
Norges Forskningsråd |
IND-11/0044 |
|
Research Council - Agreement no 2 |
Norges Forskningsråd |
IND-11/0053 |
|
Research Council - Agreement no 3 |
Norges Forskningsråd |
IND-15/0007 |
|
SINTEF CPWD Building Waste Mgmt |
SINTEF |
IND-12/0032 |
|
SINTEF CPCB Co-processing (II) |
SINTEF |
IND-14/0018 |
|
SINTEF Ecofriendly refrigeration & ACs |
SINTEF |
IND-15/0023 |
|
Management of Catastrophic Natural Disasters in Uttarakhand |
Norges Geotekniske Institutt |
IND-14/0007 |
|
Institutional Support to ATREE |
ATREE - Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment |
IND-12/0050 |
|
TERI Norway Inst Climate Energy (II) |
TERI - The Energy and Resource Institute |
IND-13/0038 |
|
SIU Higher Education Collaboration |
SIU - Senter for internasjonalisering av utdanning |
IND-13/0018 |
|
NIPI- LFA Addendum II |
UNOPS - UN Office for Project Services |
IND-11/0015 |
|
UNDP: Support to Norway India Partnership Initiative |
UNDP - UN Development Programme |
IND-13/0002 |
|
Jhpiego Cooperation: Pre-service nursing/midwifery education |
Jhpiego |
IND-12/0024 |
|
Research for documentation of NIPI 2013-2017 |
Sambodhi Research & Communications Pvt. Ltd. |
IND-13/0013 |
|
PHFI: RMNCH+A Implementation in Jammu and Kashmir through Swasthya Slate |
PHFI - Public Health Foundation of India |
IND-13/0016 |
|
ITD-HST: Sustainable Integrated Mother/Child Health Care in Rural India |
ITD-HST - Institute of Trans-disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology |
IND-14/0006 |
|
IPE Global: Administration of NIPI Project |
IPE Global Ltd |
IND-15/0020 |
|
INCLEN: Evaluation of HBNC+ project at district level |
INCLEN - International Clinical Epidemiology Network |
IND-16/0003 |
|
WB: South Asia Water Initiative, phase II (Regional) |
World Bank |
QRC-12/0003 |
|
Multi Sectoral Approach to Enhancing Gender Responsive Governance (Regional) |
UN Women |
QRC-15/0001 |
|
THP: Women in Panchayats and Violence against Women |
The Hunger Project |
IND-12/0039 |
|
Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation |
Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation |
IND-15/0022 |
|
Afghanistan and its neighbours: A Regional Consensus |
Delhi Policy Group |
IND-13/0026 |
|
IDSA-PRIO. India in the World: Emerging Perspectives on Glob. Challenges |
PRIO - International Peace Research Institute, Oslo |
IND-14/0029 |
|
Rikskonsertene - Music cooperation Indo-Nor 2014-2017 |
Rikskonsertene |
IND-13/0033 |
|
Seagull School of Publishing (phase 2) |
Seagull Foundation for the Arts |
IND-13/0034 |
|
A vision for contemporary dance and performance art in India 2014-2017 |
Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts |
IND-13/0035 |
|
GATI Dance Forum Programme |
Gati Dance Forum |
IND-13/0037 |
|
Khoj International Artists Association Programme |
KHOJ - International Artists Association |
IND-14/0005 |
|
Ibsen in Hyderabad (phase 2) |
University of Hyderabad |
IND-14/0023 |
|
Strategic Management in the Arts of Theatre |
IFA - India Foundation for the Arts |
IND-13/0021 |
|
Ibsen between Tradition and Contemporaneity: The Peer Gynt Cycle |
University of Hyderabad |
IND-13/0036 |