<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong></strong><strong>The Council of Ministers on Tuesday authorized voluntary contributions to various organizations, programs, funds, and other international entities totaling nearly €62 million to strengthen multilateral work through the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). Among these contributions, the €15 million to the Climate Change Adaptation Fund stands out.</strong></h4> The objective of these contributions, proposed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, is to address challenges such as food security and agriculture, humanitarian aid, climate change, and multilateral responses, in a particularly complex year due to cuts to various agencies. So far this year, more than €150 million has been approved for disbursements to a total of 42 multilateral organizations. According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the largest amount corresponds to the Climate Change Adaptation Fund (CF), with €15 million. This is an international fund that finances projects and programs to help developing countries adapt to the harmful effects of climate change. It was established in compliance with the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In second place is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which will receive six million euros to maintain its economic viability and the provision of its services. Separately, Spain will contribute almost five million euros to the United Nations Organization for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) "to address the gaps that persist globally and hinder social, economic, and cultural opportunities in the area of gender equality." Also notable are the €4.375 billion allocated to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the €4.3 million allocated to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), with €4.3 million to promote universal access to sexual and reproductive health, the effective exercise of reproductive rights, and the reduction of maternal mortality. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) will receive €3.1 million to promote humane and orderly migration, as well as to advise both governments and migrants. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will receive almost €3 million to improve food production capacity, address the risks of setbacks in food security, transform food systems to more sustainable ones, and recognize the right to food. Spain will also allocate €2.6 million to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to help children and their mothers in developing countries, €1.55 billion to the International Labor Organization (ILO), and €1.5 million to the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat). The list includes the World Food Program (WFP) with €900,000; the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with €850,000; the World Health Organization (WHO) with €250,000; and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) with €100,000.
