German hunger-fighting group warns Berlin against aid cuts in budget

A major German aid agency is warning the government against cutting funding for global humanitarian hotspots and the long-term fight against hunger and poverty.

Welthungerhilfe, whose name translates as World Hunger Aid, said the the government's 2025 budget proposal would jeopardize programmes to combat hunger that Berlin has to date supported.

"The German government's current draft budget sends the wrong signal to people who, despite all adversity, will not give up and want to make a difference for their families and communities," said Marlehn Thieme, president of the group.

"Training programmes for young people, for example, offer prospects for earning their own income, and girls and women in particular benefit from these new opportunities," she explained.

Thieme spoke at the presentation of Welthungerhilfe's 2023 annual report on Tuesday in Berlin, where debate continues about German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's budget plans for next year.

Earlier this month, the leaders of the coalition government reached a breakthrough on a budget framework after weeks of difficult negotiations.

With Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) refusing to release the country's debt brake on government expenditure, and Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) ruling out cuts to welfare spending, other parts of the budget are under pressure.

The German Development Ministry said it had a total of around €11.22 billion ($12.2 billion) at its disposal for the 2024 fiscal year. The draft budget for next year envisages around €1 billion less for the ministry.

Welthungerhilfe said it had €323.2 million at its disposal last year for projects aimed at overcoming hunger and poverty globally.

Public donors provided €266.5 million for the programmes. German federal funds accounted for half of this, with the Foreign Office being the largest single donor with €59.2 million.