Regional Meet Concerned About CSO Funding Cuts

Regional Meet Concerned About CSO Funding Cuts

SUVA, FIJI ISLANDS (29 March, 2011) . A Pacific regional meeting on development effectiveness has expressed concern about donor funding cuts to umbrella Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) across the region, saying that the cuts have led to a loss of capacity building and governance training initiatives - both key priority areas for Pacific CSOs.

The Pacific Regional CSO Open Forum on Development Effectiveness, Follow-Up and Planning Meeting Towards the Busan Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF4) ended in Suva on Saturday (26 March, 2011). The meeting, which was attended by regional representatives from Australia , New Zealand , Fiji , Tonga , the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea , recognised the critical role that umbrella NGOs play at the national and regional levels in convening, coordinating and developing policy dialogue with communities, donors and governments. Participants called on donors to move away from ad hoc project approaches, to long-term strategic partnerships, based on analysis and planning to support civil society development in each Pacific country, with strong, consistent resourcing and collaboration.

“Additionally, the commitments made on donor harmonisation in the Paris Declaration need to be extended to dialogue, resourcing and collaboration with CSOs,” said Ms Emele Duituturaga-Jale, interim Executive Director of the Pacific Islands Association of NGOs (PIANGO). “CSOs at the meeting also expressed their desire for Governments and donors to partner more strategically with them to improve development effectiveness and realise the goals of the Pacific Plan as well as achieve the Millennium Development Goals,” she said.

“We also welcome the commitment by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat to collaborate with CSOs to strengthen development cooperation in the Pacific under the Cairns Compact and we look forward to greater involvement of the non government sector in planning and implementation of development activities to ensure more broad-based efforts to support development coordination,” Ms Duituturaga-Jale said. Representatives at the meeting also called on the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat to expand its annual High-Level Dialogue between private sector representatives and Forum leaders to include other non-state actors such as CSO umbrella bodies, including PIANGO. The Pacific meeting was organised by PIANGO and was part of worldwide consultations in the lead-up to the HLF4 in Busan , South Korea , in November, 2011. HLF4 will assess whether or not key government commitments on development effectiveness have been achieved since the last high-level meeting in Accra in 2008. The Busan meeting is a key opportunity for governments to go beyond promises and commit to more effective, sustainable development assistance in terms of its real impact on the lives of all people.

ENDS

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