Finland grants €17m to Int´l NGOs for 2021-24

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted EUR 17 million to international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) for 2021–2024, said the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a press release on Wednesday.

The support was granted to five organisations for their work on promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHRs) worldwide, and especially in Afghanistan, and for strengthening tax transparency in sub-Saharan Africa.

The funding has a significant role in promoting the goals of Finland's development cooperation. Support to INGOs is one of the ways to contribute to effective and efficient development cooperation. In this call for proposals for discretionary government grants, EUR 15 million was allocated for the promotion of sexual and reproductive health and rights and EUR 2 million for strengthening tax justice.

Funding allocated to tax justice is part of the implementation of the Government’s Taxation for Development Action Programme.

“A reliable and efficient tax system that is considered just is an essential element of well-functioning societies. Through this funding, we support civil societies’ capacity to call on governments to collect tax revenue and use them for providing public services,” said Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.

Promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights is one of the key goals in Finland's development cooperation. The coronavirus pandemic has weakened the availability of SRHR services globally.

“The funding will support women's and girls’ opportunities to access these vitally important services. Through this support we contribute to advancing the lives of women and girls with disabilities, women and girls belonging to minorities and those suffering from humanitarian crises,” Skinnari said.