A Caritas Bangladesh organised distribution of food for Rohingya refugees, May 2018
Arifur Rahman/Goopy Bagha Productions/Caritas Schweiz
Catholic charity Caritas has announced that it will close offices in five out of the 20 countries in which it operates in the coming months. The reason: an expected shortfall in funding.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/ilj
The countries affected are Bangladesh, India, Kenya, the Palestinian Territories and Colombia. There will be no job cuts. But some employees will be reassigned to duties in other countries, Caritas said in a statementExternal link on Friday. This will allow the charity to work more “effectively and efficiently” in other countries.
Caritas also wants to “consistently” implement aid in Indonesia and Mozambique as well as for the Venezuela crisis in Colombia and Brazil and aims to continue its support to countries affected by disasters.
Change
The move comes at a time of change in development cooperation. At the beginning of May, the Federal Council (executive body) announced that it wanted to shake-up Switzerland’s international development strategy. This included narrowing its focus 34 countries instead of 44.
The proposed international cooperation strategyExternal link for 2021-2024 is currently being discussed by relevant partners before approval by parliament in early 2020.
Caritas expects the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development (SDC)’s budget for the main external charities – who often carry out projects in the field in collaboration with the SDC – to be slashed by CHF2.5 million. The charity said it was carrying out the new measures to be proactive about the changes ahead.
Further pressure
Earlier this year, ten Swiss non-governmental organisations received a letterExternal link from the European Union saying that they were no longer eligible for EU humanitarian aid fundingExternal link. Aid agencies in non-member Switzerland had previously received the funds due to the strong Swiss-EU bilateral ties. However, Caritas said that the shortfall here would be manageable.
The ten organisations pointed out in March that they were facing increasing financial and political pressure to fund their activities. Caritas’ Protestant counterpart, HEKS, has already said External linkthat it is withdrawing from two countries and would dismiss six employees.
Caritas nevertheless described its finances as in a good state, especially thanks to private donations, which have increased over the past years.
More
More
Political hurdles risk undermining Swiss aid groups
This content was published on
Development aid organisations in Switzerland say they face increasing financial and political pressure to fund their activities.
Swiss price watchdog slams excessive prices for generic medicines
This content was published on
The cheapest generic medicines available in Switzerland are more than twice as expensive as in other countries, according to a study by the Swiss price watchdog.
Nature should not figure in net zero calculations: academic study
This content was published on
The natural removal of CO2 from the atmosphere by forests or oceans should not be included in the net-zero balance of climate protection measures, argue researchers.
This content was published on
None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.
This content was published on
Nestlé's new CEO Laurent Freixe, has presented plans for the future of the world's largest food company, after his first few weeks in office.
Swiss foreign minister calls on Moscow to end Ukraine war
This content was published on
It's high time Moscow ended its war against Ukraine, Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis tells the UN Security Council.
This content was published on
The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.
Study reveals food culture differences between Switzerland and neighbours
This content was published on
Three-quarters of Swiss people consider eating to be a pleasurable, social activity, a new survey reveals. Healthy eating, however, plays a much less important role, it found.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
EU turns off funding tap for Swiss NGOs
This content was published on
Ten Swiss non-governmental agencies are set to lose key European Union funding for humanitarian operations, according to Swiss public radio, SRF.
Swiss agency suspends payments to migration platform
This content was published on
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has temporarily suspended payments to a civil society platform on migration issues.
Switzerland raises CHF6.2 million for Indonesia earthquake tragedy
This content was published on
The funds were raised during a Swiss Solidarity-organised national fundraising day on Friday in collaboration with the business units of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), swissinfo’s parent company. Hotlines were set up in the cities of Zurich, Geneva, Lugano and Chur in response to an appeal from the Indonesian government for international assistance. Outgoing Swiss…
Calls mount for action over poverty in Switzerland
This content was published on
The national programme against poverty has been given a positive assessment. But there have been calls for more to be done. Funding is also an issue.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.