Germany's aid cutbacks spark humanitarian concerns

Germany's development minister and aid organizations have warned of severe humanitarian consequences following an 8-percent cut to the country's foreign aid budget, which has halved emergency funding.

The ruling coalition of the Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union, and Social Democrats announced in the summer it will reduce funding for the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to just under 10 billion euros ($11.47 billion), affecting multiple development programs and international partnerships.

Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan of the Social Democrats told the German parliament last week the impact of the cuts was clear.

"My budget is down by around 910 million euros compared to the previous year," she said. "In view of increasing crises, Germany is investing far less in international cooperation than is actually urgently needed."

While acknowledging the challenges, Alabali Radovan distanced the policy from comparisons to the dramatic aid reductions seen in the United States under President Donald Trump, insisting German development policy would remain effective, reported Deutsche Welle News, or DW.

"We are a long way off American conditions — and that's how it should be," insisted the minister.

DW noted that Germany's emergency aid budget has been slashed to 1.05 billion euros from 2.23 billion euros in 2024. And since 2022, there has been a two-thirds reduction.

Illustrating the consequences of severe aid cuts, Alabali Radovan pointed to the Trump administration's policies.

"In Kenya, over 700,000 refugees, many from Somalia, have been directly affected by the US cuts to the World Food Program," she said, noting the refugees now receive just one-third of their required food rations. "Tensions are growing, many people have to flee, the region is becoming increasingly destabilized. This is unacceptable in human terms and is also not in Germany's security interests."

Emphasizing aid's crucial role in global stability, Alabali Radovan added: "Every euro that is invested wisely worldwide promotes security and peace, including for us in Europe and Germany."

Thorsten Klose-Zuber, secretary-general of the NGO Help, warned that the 50-percent reduction in German emergency aid will leave more than 4 million people worldwide without food assistance.

Klose-Zuber estimates more than 320 million people need aid globally, with the German cuts leaving 1.5 million without basic healthcare. He warned that other nations are unlikely to fill the funding gap, noting a broader trend of Western donors withdrawing from multilateral aid commitments.

"We are seeing a fundamental movement worldwide, especially from the traditional Western donor countries, to pull out of the agreed multilateral system financially," he said.

Green party lawmaker Jamila Schafer said while Germany cannot fully replace US aid, the government's unwillingness to help fill the gap will have devastating consequences for aid recipients.

Conservatives argue that good results can still be achieved with the reduced 10-billion-euro budget. The far-right Alternative for Germany party called for even deeper cuts, dismissing development aid to emerging economies like India as a "waste of taxpayers' money".