Ewha Womans UniversityInstitute for Development and Human Security

Overview and Trends in Germany's Health ODA

Germany is the second-largest donor in terms of aid volume. As of 2017, Germany's aid expenditure was approximately $21.8 billion. Germany's development priorities are, in order: addressing the root causes of refugee crises, climate change and renewable energy, and agriculture and food security. The investment breakdown is as follows: refugee support (30%), humanitarian aid (9%), education (9%), energy (9%), and agriculture (4%). Germany allocates more funds to bilateral aid compared to multilateral aid. In the health sector, Germany is the third-largest donor globally, following the United States and the United Kingdom, with an aid volume of approximately $1.1 billion. This represents about 4% of Germany's GDP, but it falls short of the DAC average of 8%. The German government considers health to be a critical sector for ODA, focusing particularly on health systems, poverty-related issues, neglected tropical diseases, and international partnerships. Based on the OECD DAC CRS aid purpose codes, Germany's data on health sector (120) and reproductive health (130) aid by continent (2008-2017) is as follows:

Basic health (120): Asia (56%), Africa (30%), Unspecified (10%) 

Reproductive health (130): Africa (51%), Asia (34%), Americas (9%). A notable difference compared to other countries' support methods is the significant disparity in support ratios between the top two continents.

독일의 원조목적코드 120, 130의 대륙별 지원비율

Germany's Health ODA Strategy by BMZ

Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit, BMZ)가 operates as an independent agency responsible for development aid and plays a major role in international health policy. Germany adopts a human rights-based approach as the fundamental framework for its development cooperation activities, ensuring that human rights are integrated into all areas of development cooperation. The Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) is effectively applied to projects targeting poor, vulnerable, and marginalized groups, aiming to improve health indicators efficiently. Key areas of health cooperation addressed by Germany include health, human rights, universal health coverage, health insurance, health systems, child and adolescent health, AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria eradication, epidemics, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, polio, neglected tropical diseases, reproductive health, maternal health, family planning, hospital partnerships, and the 2030 Health Agenda.

In 2017, the investment breakdown for health ODA by sector was Epidemic Management(27%), Basic Medical Facilities(21%), Reproductive Health(12%), Health Policy and Administration(11%), and Medical Services(7%). 

2017년 독일의 보건섹터별 투자비율

Girls' Health

- Population Dynamics and Reproductive Health Program (2015-2018, Middle East and Africa)

This program addresses reproductive health issues arising from increasing population growth due to urbanization and migration. It operates under a human rights-based approach and gender-sensitive policies, providing health and educational services to women and girls.

 - Adolescent Reproductive Health and HIV Prevention Program (2015-2018, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, South Africa)

This program offers HIV prevention, infection treatment, and reproductive health services to adolescents aged 10 to 24. The activities are supported by the health ministries of each country. The program aims to improve outcomes at both the regional and national levels.