Visit Swiss Cooperation Office websites.
Humanitarian Aid
Cooperation with developing countries
Economic and trade policy measures
Cooperation with the countries of
Eastern Europe and the CIS
Water programmes
Thanks to its water programmes, between 2006 and 2010 the SDC has been able to provide more than 2 million people, mainly in rural areas, with improved access to drinking water
and sanitary facilities. Access to water for irrigation purposes has been improved for around 150,000 people.
Report on the
Effectiveness of Swiss Development cooperation in the water sector
Climate change
Apart from its participation in international negotiations on climate change, the SDC is also active on the ground. It promotes brick-building construction methods which reduce
the CO2 impact by 50%. After the successful introduction of an efficient brick-making furnace in India, the method is now being used on three continents. As a result, 150,000 tonnes of CO2 are saved
in Vietnam alone. This is the equivalent of 75,000 flights between Europe and Hanoi.
Description of a similar project in South Africa
Bank credit
Many small companies in developing countries are denied access to bank credit because they cannot meet the requirements set by financial institutions, which are themselves often
weak. SECO is financing the establishment of advisory service centres to help companies draw up business plans. In conjunction with this, local banks are also being strengthened. In Indonesia this
type of project to improve access to credit resulted in the creation of 12,000 jobs.
More d'information
Guidelines and strategic objectives
Switzerland has many years of experience in providing countries and their people with effective assistance to overcome development and transition problems or humanitarian crises. It does this for reasons of
- solidarity – no country can master poverty and global challenges alone.
- enlightened self-interest – because the security, prosperity and quality of life of a country like Switzerland with its extensive international network is dependent on global political, economic and environmental developments. Its commitment to fighting poverty abroad is also a commitment to greater security and a higher quality of life in Switzerland.
Five goals
Switzerland’s commitment focuses on five goals:
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Two pillars
Switzerland’s International Cooperation continues to be built on two pillars:
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In February 2011, Parliament decided to increase official development assistance to 0.5% of Gross National Income by 2015. This will place Switzerland in the mid-table of OECD donors. In line with this a commitment volume amounting to a total of CHF 11.35 billion is foreseen for the four framework credits over a four-year period. This amounts to around 3% of total federal expenditure (2010).
| Framework credits (FC) 2013–2016 in CHF millions | Medium | % |
| FC Humanitarian Aid and the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SDC) | 2'025 | 17,8% |
| FC for the continuation of technical cooperation and financial aid in support of developing countries (SDC) | 6'920 | 61,0% |
| Bilateral cooperation | 4'152 | |
| Multilateral cooperation | 2'768 | |
| FC for the continuation of economic and trade policy measures in developing countries (SECO) | 1'280 | 11,3% |
| FC for the continuation of cooperation with the countries of Eastern Europe and the CIS | 1'125 | 9,9% |
| SDC | 750 | |
| SECO | 375 | |
| Total commitments | 11'350 | 100% |
Switzerland concentrates on themes in which it can demonstrate proven experience and strength. It takes account of the differing needs of countries and regions, the potential for effective action, the willingness of partner countries to engage in successful cooperation as well as the enlightened self-interest of Switzerland itself.
Effectiveness
Resources are efficiently deployed to maximise their effectiveness. This involves keeping administrative costs as low as possible, and instituting internal and external controls to minimise risks
such as corruption. Annually up to 0.4% of resources are used to evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of programmes. Reports on Effectiveness provide politics and the public with
regular information about the results achieved.
Additional Information and Documents
- Annual Report SDC / SECO 2010 (inculsive Statistics Brochure)
Download (PDF, 5825 KB) : [de] [en] [fr]
Order - "Millionen für Tunesien nur bei Asyl-Kooperation?": Interview mit dem Deza-Chef Martin Dahinden
Der Deza-Chef über den Plan des Bundesrates, Entwicklungshilfe und Migration zu verknüpfen.
Download (PDF, 103 KB) : [de] - Effectiveness
To capitalize on its experience and improve its development programmes and projects, SDC needs to ev... - Global Programs