{"id":5347,"date":"2025-09-17T12:24:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T12:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kreisky-forum.org\/veranstaltung\/does-the-zeitenwende-mean-the-end-of-international-aid"},"modified":"2026-07-21T11:10:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T11:10:30","slug":"does-the-turn-of-the-century-mean-the-end-of-international-aid","status":"publish","type":"kreisky_event","link":"https:\/\/www.kreisky-forum.org\/en\/veranstaltung\/does-the-zeitenwende-mean-the-end-of-international-aid","title":{"rendered":"DOES THE \u201cZEITWENDE\u201d MEAN THE END OF INTERNATIONAL AID?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In cooperation with the <\/em>Austrian Research Foundation for International Development (\u00d6FSE)<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Irene Horejs in conversation with Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou and Stephan Klingebiel<\/h4>\n

DOES THE \"ZEITWENDE\" MEAN THE END OF INTERNATIONAL AID?<\/h4>\n

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At the beginning of 2025, President Trump started his 2nd Presidency by shutting down USAID and 90% of US foreign aid. The \u201cstop work order\u201d hit aid organisations and vulnerable communities particularly in Africa like a bomb. Aid organisations stopped working from one day to the other, US financed medicines stopped being distributed, health centres and medicine stores remained closed. Some UN agencies like UNHCR and WFP, both highly dependent on US finance, were forced to drastically reduce their operations and staff- all with a devastating impact on the affected populations.<\/p>\n

However, Donald Trump was not the first one to cut down foreign aid agencies and budget. In 2020, Boris Johnson dissolved DFID, the highly prestigious aid agency of the UK and merged parts of it into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. More recently, other EU donor countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and Austria reduced their aid budgets and framed them into short term interests like curbing migration, securing trade and others.<\/p>\n

Does the \u201cturn of an era\u201d mean the end of international solidarity and of development as a global good coordinated by a set of norm giving, multilateral institutions? Are we confronted to a new politicisation of aid? Or is this only an \u201ceasy\u201d way to save strained budgets in face of the new imperative of rearmament? What is the impact on developing countries, affected populations and how do they react? Are there any alternative means to finance not only humanitarian aid, social and economic development but also the necessary actions against climate change?<\/p>\n

Introductory Remarks:
\nWerner Raza<\/strong>, Scientific Director, \u00d6FSE<\/p>\n

Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou<\/strong>, Director of the Politics and Governance programme at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), UK
\nStephan Klingebiel<\/strong>, Head of the research department \"Inter- and Transnational Cooperation\" at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
\nModerator:
\nIrene Horejs<\/strong>, Former Director of DG ECHO and former EU Ambassador to Peru, Mali and Niger<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This second event under the focus \u201cHumanity in der Zeitenwende\u201d is organised in cooperation with the <\/em>Austrian Research Foundation for International Development (\u00d6FSE)<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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