<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Council of Ministers authorized this Tuesday several multi-year contributions from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) totaling €84.5 million. These contributions, combined with the €34 million approved at the previous government meeting, bring the total amount to almost €120 million.</strong></h4> These voluntary contributions, which follow the mandate of the Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation 2024-2027 and the commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, are regularly made to international organizations, programs, funds, and other entities with the aim of promoting "better living conditions for people and a more sustainable planet," according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release. Some of the beneficiary organizations are part of the United Nations system, such as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), "preferred partners in addressing challenges such as global health, gender equality, food security, humanitarian aid, and multilateral response," he continued. These contributions are in addition to the €28 million that the Joint Fund for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will receive through the Secretariat of State for International Cooperation, authorized by the Council of Ministers on April 8. That same day, multi-year contributions of €5.2 million were also authorized to the United Nations Special Purpose Trust Fund, €283,000 to the Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network, and €250,000 to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). The last two correspond to the 2025 fiscal year. <h5><strong>Spain and the UN</strong></h5> Among the new contributions, the UN will receive more than €35 million through some of its agencies, such as UN-Women (to increase women's employability in Arab countries and support the Safe Cities initiative) and UN-Habitat (to which Spain is the sole contributor), to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement by promoting climate resilience in vulnerable urban areas in Bolivia, Colombia, Jordan, Tunisia, and Ethiopia. Also on the list is the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA, of which Spain is one of the top twenty donors), to promote the Joint Programme on the Eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (JEP) and the We Decide initiative, an internal pooled fund to strengthen social inclusion, gender, and sexual violence prevention policies for vulnerable populations. In terms of humanitarian aid, the government agreement also authorizes contributions of €14.65 million to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), €13.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and €3.6 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). AECID will also cooperate with UNICEF through several lines of work, such as child protection through the fight against violence, child exploitation and abuse, digitalization and social inclusion, and inclusive policies for people with disabilities. <h5><strong>Other organizations</strong></h5> In the health sector, the Pandemic Fund (of which Spain is one of the founding members) will receive €25 million, and the World Health Organization (WHO) will receive €200,000 with the goal of achieving universal health coverage or exploring programs linking health and climate change. At the multilateral level, Spain will allocate €3,120,000 to the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), €6,900,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross, €1 million to the Union for the Mediterranean (€1 million), and €1 million to the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies.
