NGOs are sounding the alarm: the suspension of public development aid from France to Niger and Burkina Faso is jeopardizing numerous projects intended for local populations. Funding, worth almost €200 million, must be urgently restored to ensure the continuity of these vital initiatives.
Despite the possibility for French NGOs to continue their actions in these countries, some find themselves at an impasse due to the suspension of funding. Olivier Bruyeron, president of Coordination SUD, which brings together more than 180 organizations, expresses his concern about this situation: “This concerns a wide range of projects threatened with cessation, such as aid for the evolution of agricultural practices in link with climate change, health and education services, which are essential for the daily lives of tens of thousands of people. We must get out of this zone of uncertainty in the coming days and weeks.”
NGOs have already seen the consequences of the interruption of French development aid to Mali since last year. Frédéric Apollin, director of Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières, gives a concrete example: “In the north of Mali, a Malian NGO no longer has the financial resources to ensure the health caravans which provided care to men, women and to animals in pastoral camps. This service, which benefited more than 30,000 families, has not existed for two years.”
NGOs are calling on the French government to restore funding to Burkina Faso and Niger, two countries where nearly 18 million people need humanitarian assistance.
But they also denounce an increasing politicization of public development assistance, which should on the contrary remain apolitical. Several NGOs, such as CCFD-Terre Solidaire, are warning about the use of development aid as a negotiating instrument in international relations. Manuèle Derolez, general delegate of CCFD-Terre Solidaire, underlines the importance of preserving France’s solidarity orientation and values: “Aid must remain oriented towards solidarity, in accordance with the values of France, and not not be subject to economic, diplomatic or political conditions.”
In France, public development assistance is governed by a 2021 law which mainly aims to fight poverty. NGOs are calling for a debate in the French Parliament to reaffirm the apolitical use of development aid, so that it does not become a foreign policy tool and truly helps improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable populations..
In conclusion, it is imperative to restore funding for public development assistance in Niger and Burkina Faso in order to safeguard the numerous ongoing projects and meet the essential needs of local populations. It is also essential to preserve the apoliticism of development aid, leaving aside political issues and allowing these initiatives to truly act in favor of solidarity and the reduction of poverty.