Hello, this is Michelle. The US decision to halt foreign assistance is already disrupting aid delivery worldwide. In an interview, the deputy head of UNAids, Christine Stegling, says her agency is managing for now but warns of broader implications for global humanitarian efforts.
For Helvetas' Patrik Berlinger, this is precisely why countries like Switzerland should step up rather than retreat, as it recently did by scaling back development aid. Geneva authorities have moved to take action, though their efforts might prove futile. |
Christine Stegling, deputy executive director of UNAids, at a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, 26 November 2024. (Keystone/Salvatore Di Nolfi)
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Here's what else is happening
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⏳Geneva sends mixed signals to its NGOs.
Geneva authorities recently proposed a CHF 10 million aid package to help local organisations hit by the US funding freeze weather the storm, but political resistance could delay the help by up to seven months, potentially arriving too late.
Le Temps🔐 (FR)
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💥China condemns Trump's 'tariff shocks' at WTO, warns of possible recession.
China's ambassador to the world trade body, Li Chenggang, said at a closed-door meeting that the US's unilateral moves could "upend the rules-based multilateral trading system".
Reuters (EN)
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🪖UN rights chief accuses Rwanda-backed rebels in east Congo of killing and recruiting children.
Volker Türk said in a statement that his office had “confirmed cases of summary execution of children by M23 after they entered the city of Bukavu last week".
The Associated Press via Los Angeles Times (EN)
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🦠The pandemic agreement talks without the US a gamechanger?
The US retreat from negotiations will have significant implications for the future agreement, from financing to the absence of its technical expertise.
Geneva Health Files (EN)
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💰Global Fund launches $18bn replenishment in tough fundraising landscape.
The US contributes 30 per cent of the global financing organisation's total funding.
Devex (EN)
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🏠280,000 Syrian refugees estimated to have returned home since Assad fall.
The UN refugee chief, Filippo Grandi, informed also that 800,000 people who were displaced within the country had also gone back.
Anadolu Agency (EN)
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❝Switzerland must rethink funding cuts to avoid further weakening international Geneva.
Just as the United States moves to reshape its foreign aid policy, jeopardising the United Nations and the humanitarian and development aid architecture, Bern has also announced funding cutbacks. As the host state – along with other European countries –, Switzerland should instead strengthen the multilateral system, ensuring that the UN remains effective and capable, writes Patrik Berlinger, head of political communication at Helvetas.
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