Letter to H.E. Ms. Magdalena Andersson, Prime Minister of Sweden
H.E. Ms. Magdalena Andersson,
Prime Minister of Sweden
As a partner organization to We Effect, we are writing to you to express our deep concerns about the decision to dramatically cut Sweden’s official development assistance; the war in Ukraine has underlined how severely vulnerable groups are affected in times of crisis, specifically women and children. Already enduring the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, people in poverty are now suffering from skyrocketing food prices. Additionally, the Secretary-General of the UN warns that 1,7 billion persons – one-fifth of the world’s population– are at risk of hunger and poverty. The world is in the worst humanitarian situation since World War II. Approximately half of humanity lives in the danger zone of the climate crisis.
As Palestinians and as PWWSD, we believe that gender equality is more than a goal in itself, it is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development, and building good governance. The cut in the Swedish development assistance will have drastic implications and will limit our capacity to continue contributing to our sector, working with women in rural and marginalized areas in promoting and advocating for women’s economic rights and gender equality, increasing women’s contribution to their local communities, and strengthening women’s economic resilience as well as resilience to climate change.
We value and respect the Swedish government's positions with regard to the Ukrainian crisis and its support to Ukrainian refugees. Your Excellency, Ms. Anderson, leader of the Swedish government, we trust that you are a strong believer in international solidarity, human rights, and gender equality and that you will continue to support us in these desperate times and re-evaluate the decision to cut development assistance to ensure that the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the climate crisis on Palestinians will be minimized to the maximum.
We appreciate your understanding and consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
Amal Khreishe
General Manager.