Swedish ICMIF member Folksam, is donating SEK 1 million to the aid organisation We Effect. We Effect is an organisation that aims to create sustainable agriculture, reduce environmental and climate impact, fight poverty, and much more. The organisation is being affected by the Swedish government’s reallocation of development assistance and now projects and collaborations that have been built up over several years risk being destroyed.
The cut in development assistance is the largest ever in Swedish history, at the same time as the world is in the most serious humanitarian situation since the Second World War. However, reports show that it is not food shortages that underlie the rapid increase in hunger.
“We see, for example, that the prices of basic goods have increased by 50 percent, which is unsustainable for many families in poor countries. Together, we need to increase the possibility for more, not least poor countries, to be self-sufficient and to reduce dependence on imports… For example, we see that the prices of basic goods have increased by 50 percent, which is unsustainable for many families in poor countries. Together, we need to increase the opportunity for more people, not least poor countries’ degree of self-sufficiency and reduce dependence on imports”, says Karin Stenmar, Head of Sustainability at Folksam.
Folksam has supported We Effect’s work against poverty for over 50 years. Over the past two decades, Folksam, together with its employees, has contributed over SEK 23 million to We Effect’s work against poverty in other parts of the world.
“It is initiatives like this that make We Effect proud to be part of the Swedish cooperative movement. Folksam’s initiative comes at just the right time when vital efforts are threatened by the cuts decided on by the government. Thanks to the collaboration with Folksam, we can continue to do what we do best – to support people to get out of poverty and hunger”, shares Anna Tibblin, Secretary General of We Effect.
On the same theme, in June this year, Folksam made an SEK one billion investment in the UN agency International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which issued its first-ever bond. The investment, where the Folksam Group is the only financier, who will help reduce food shortages and increase growth in the world’s less developed countries. Among other things, by helping small-scale farmers adapt to climate change.
