Finland Times

According to a Kepa survey, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have had to drop hundreds of projects due to the cuts.

The loss of these projects has left more than one million people without NGO assistance.

Many NGOs have closed or are altogether ending their operations in developing countries. According to Kepa, Finland’s reputation as a reliable partner has suffered a blow.

The government cut appropriations for development cooperation by 43 per cent last year. The budget for NGOs was reduced by almost half.

“Policymakers and officials have encouraged organisations to operate more efficiently and set up a goal of ‘more for less.’ But the fact is that fewer resources yield fewer results,” said Kepa Programme Director Outi Hannula in a bulletin of the organisation.

The cuts have impacted, for example, human rights work related to women, children and people with disabilities.

Finland’s development organisations have laid off at least 50 people and lost at least double that number in person-years.

The Kepa survey collected information from about 50 organisations, which is just under one-third of the organisations that were supported by the foreign ministry last year.