AMMAN — The
Open Society Foundations announced on Wednesday that they are providing $1.7 million towards
a UN initiative in the MENA region that seeks to catalyze increased public
spending on achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by negotiating
reduced national debt service payments.
اضافة اعلان
The initiative provides a channel for
MENA civil society organizations to have a voice about where such kinds of
innovative financing is needed most, according to a press statement.
The two-and-a-half-year project
partnership, which will last from April 2023 through September 2025, will
support work by the
UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA),
along with interested member states and civil society organizations, to
identify investment projects that prioritize the most urgent needs of MENA
societies. ESCWA will support member states in reaching agreements with their
creditors to redirect scheduled debt service payments into sustainable local
investments.
Heavily indebted MENA countries have pressing financing needs to address climate adaptation and sustainable development goals, while struggling to recover from fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic and repercussions of the war in Ukraine, including growing food insecurity.
An emphasis on robust project monitoring
and evaluation provides an incentive to creditors who are ready to deliver on
their own commitments to climate and sustainable development goals financing in
MENA. The initiative is further strengthened by the role of
ESCWA’s Advisory Committee, made up of experts with experience implementing debt swaps and
providing economic policy advice on inclusive growth in other parts of the
world.
The regional realityHeavily indebted MENA countries have
pressing financing needs to address climate adaptation and sustainable
development goals, while struggling to recover from fallouts of the
COVID-19 pandemic and repercussions of the war in Ukraine, including growing food
insecurity. As middle-income countries, they are both excluded from debt relief
frameworks and find it difficult to access the financing they need.
“As a multilateral institution with a commitment to human rights and civil society engagements, ESCWA provides a new opportunity for civil society to engage with governments on borrowing, spending, and development priorities.”
The combined public debt burden of Arab
countries was $1.5 trillion, equivalent to about 54 percent of the region’s GDP
in 2021. In addition, the Arab region continues to suffer disproportionately
from climate change and 90 percent of the population resides in water-scarce
countries. Conflicts in the region have devastated institutions and
infrastructure and some 66 million persons in Arab countries affected by
conflict are dependent on humanitarian aid.
‘Win-win’“The ESCWA initiative is a win-win strategy
for all stakeholders involved,” said
Issandr Amrani, executive director for
Open Society MENA. “As a multilateral institution with a commitment to human
rights and civil society engagements, ESCWA provides a new opportunity for
civil society to engage with governments on borrowing, spending, and
development priorities. Open Society is committed to backing innovative
projects that can help deliver economic justice.”
“The fiscal space and just opportunities this pledge creates expands how we must put climate justice into action.”
Yamide Dagnet, Open Society’s director for
climate justice, added: “Climate disruption poses exponential risks to MENA’s
economic and political challenges. Open Society’s pro-climate and fiscal-forward
support can pave the way for catalytic investment in a just and inclusive
climate transformation. From spurring dynamic and higher quality, green new
employment opportunities that spark optimism among youth, women, and other
marginalized communities, to addressing adaptation issues such as water
scarcity that risks amplifying conflict, the fiscal space and just
opportunities this pledge creates expands how we must put climate justice into
action.”
Open Society’s president announced the
launch of the grant during a high-level plenary session of the Arab Forum on
Sustainable Development in Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday.
Read more National news
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
