Cutbacks to Swiss international cooperation are affecting strategically important programmes and objectives.
Financial cuts jeopardise Swiss international cooperation objectives
In order to comply with the debt brake, the Federal Council decided to reduce the International Cooperation budget by CHF 175 million in 2016. This resulted in cutbacks to numerous programmes that are important to Switzerland’s foreign policy objectives. For example, SDC Humanitarian Aid had to reduce its contributions to the International Committee of the Red Cross and for rebuilding schools and health centres. In Bolivia an SDC water management programme supported 12,000 fewer families than planned. In Armenia, where more than half of the population is employed in agriculture, planned vocational education and training courses could not be realised.
The Federal Council plans further cuts in the coming years: the SDC and SECO have to be prepared for a total reduction in the IC budget of CHF 450 million between 2018 and 2020. The Dispatch 2017–2020 will therefore be underfunded.
As a result, the SDC will discontinue a programme in one of its priority countries. Numerous bilateral and regional programmes in Latin America, Africa and Asia, as well as Cooperation with Eastern Europe and Humanitarian Aid, will have to be cut back. Emergency aid is exempt from the cuts. Swiss contributions to multilateral organisations are set to be slashed: at 48%, these contributions make up the bulk of the SDC’s budget cuts. In terms of SECO, the cuts affect both bilateral cooperation in the South and East as well as multilateral cooperation.
