Opaque Swiss funding of NGOs under scrutiny

Swiss state coffers fund NGO projects in different countries. Keystone

As Swiss parliamentarians debate slashing state funding of NGOs, it remains unclear exactly how much money is being doled out to domestic and foreign-based humanitarian agencies.

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Last year, the government granted CHF4.6 billion in development aid across all departments, but only the foreign ministry is transparent about the nearly CHF1 billion it distributes to NGOs, according to the SonntagsZeitung.

Although government development aid spending has doubled in the last 15 years, it is not known how much finds its way into the coffers of NGOs, the newspaper article states.

+ Proposed Swiss international aid cuts mean less for the needy

Earlier this week, the House of Representatives voted to cut development aid funding by CHF250 million. Switzerland’s other parliamentary chamber, the Senate, will deliver its verdict in the coming week.

Research by the SonntagsZeitung details the foreign ministry’s financial support of NGOs. Some CHF860 million is distributed by the ministry’s Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC): one third to Swiss NGOs and two thirds to foreign agencies. Another CHF33 million flows from the foreign ministry to NGOs via its Peace and Human Rights Division.

According to a government report, around 200 Swiss NGOs received federal funds between 2017 and 2020. The SDC currently lists around 50 recipients. Last year, the NGO Helvetas received the most from the development aid pot (CHF63 million), followed by Swisscontact (CHF55 million) and Caritas Switzerland (CHF17 million).

Fierce debate

A fierce parliamentary debate has broken out over the proposal to slash development aid to divert money to other areas, such as increased defence spending.

Social Democrat co-president Cédric Wermuth called the proposed funding cuts “a political vendetta against the NGOs in this country”. Fabian Molina, president of Swissaid, said that NGOs “have a much better success rate than the private sector” in tackling humanitarian and development issues.

But right-leaning political parties insist that NGO funding needs an overhaul. “Development aid is a billion-dollar business. NGOs fight for projects like health insurance companies fight for customers,” said the Radical Party’s Hans-Peter Portmann during the debate in the House of Representatives.

And Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter from the Centre Party called for NGOs to reform their current practices and to cooperate more with the private sector.