UN gathering in Spain seeks to address aid challenges

SPAIN will host a UN conference next week seeking fresh backing for development aid as swingeing cuts led by US President Donald Trump and global turmoil hinder progress on fighting poverty, hunger and climate change.

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French President Emmanuel Macron, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and Daniel Noboa of Ecuador will headline the around 70 heads of state and government in the southern city of Seville from June 30 to July 3.

But a US snub at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development underlines the challenges of corralling international support for the sector.

Joining the leaders are UN chief Antonio Guterres, more than 4 000 representatives from businesses, civil society and financial institutions, including World Bank head Ajay Banga.

Such development-focused gatherings are rare — and the urgency is high as the world’s wealthiest countries tighten their purse strings and development goals set for 2030 slip from reach.

Guterres has estimated the funding gap for aid at $4 trillion per year.

Trump’s evisceration of funding for USAID — by far the world’s top foreign aid contributor — has dealt a hammer blow to humanitarian campaigns.

Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium are among the other rich nations that have announced recent aid cuts as economic and security priorities shift and national budgets are squeezed.

From fighting AIDS in southern Africa to educating displaced Rohingya children in Bangladesh, the retreat is having an instant impact.