The period 2020-2021 was one of the most challenging in recent memory. COVID-19’s fierce sweep across the world has been demanding a bold response that simultaneously safeguards the health, social and economic gains achieved to date.
The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the critical global challenges that cannot be tackled in silos by individual countries. Foreseeing the severe effects of the pandemic in developing contexts, movements have been calling for international solidarity and equality, including the centrality of SRHR therein. European governments have been responding to, joining and even leading these calls.
This report analyses 2020 funding data and 2021 political stances adopted by twelve European governments and the EU institutions. As such, it assesses changes in SRH/FP funding pre- and post-pandemic for those specific donors and for the period at stake only – with other possible trends being observable only in the longer run. It also assesses, for the first time, European support to the broader SRHR agenda.
This report shows that, instead of plunging contributions to SRH/FP in their international cooperation, European governments have in fact increased support in 2020: data collected indicates donors contributed 2.614 billion Euros to SRHR, this includes 1.447 billion Euros disbursed to SRH/FP, reaching a new maximum. 12 out of the 13 European donors under review either increased or maintained funding compared to the previous year.
But even though official development assistance (ODA) has not fallen so far, it is important that European governments maintain and scale up their commitments.
European donors continue to be vocal about the importance of SRHR in international development. 2021 introduced another ground-breaking platform to reinstate support to the SRHR agenda: the Generation Equality Forum, which aimed to advance the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. European donors pledged new support to SRHR in that context, but it remains to be seen how central this agenda will remain in development budgets.
For more detailed data and analysis, read the full report ‘European Donor Support to Sexual & Reproductive Health & Family Planning – With a Spotlight on SRHR. Trends Analysis 2020-21’
Read our factsheet summarizing the findings of the report. Available in Spanish as well.
Read the country and EU factsheets.
The data can also be further explored on the online data dashboard here.
