* The overriding goal of the Swedish development co-operation is to raise the standard of living of the poor. Sweden is active internationally in its work to combat poverty, and allocates 0.7 percent of the GDP as development assistance each year.
Measures 1995 - 1997
* During the spring of 1996, the Parliament decided, upon a proposal by the Government, that equality between men and women should constitute a new goal (together with five other goals) for Swedish development co-operation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swedish aid agency, SIDA (Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency), have developed guidelines and management programmes with the aim of transforming the goals into practice and have assessed how the skills and resources in assistance administration shall be strengthened so that these goals may be achieved.
* The goal of equality means that all development co-operation should be imbued with a gender perspective, including girls and boys. An gender perspective should thus characterise the work of country strategies and analyses of the economy and societal structure of the co-operating countries as well as the formation of individual contributions. Sweden shall also strive to ensure that the gender perspective characterises multilateral development co-operation, as well as analyses and the investments which are carried out by the EU, United Nations and the multilateral development banks.
* Sweden is actively working to ensure that international financing institutions integrate a gender perspective into their activities. Sweden partially finances, by way of example, a study within the framework for the World Bank's special programme for Africa in respect of how the gender perspective is integrated into the bank's structural adjustment programme in three African countries.
* SIDA has selected four co-operation countries, Vietnam, Tanzania, Namibia and Bangladesh, for specific and intensified equality-work based upon the PFA.
Continued measures
* In 1997, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiated a project for the mainstreaming of a gender perspective in the development co-operation through, inter alia, contributions to training and skills development for personnel in the Ministry. The project continues.
* SIDA works on the basis of a general plan, as well as multi-sector plans of action, in order to strengthen the gender perspective in all development co-operation. Equality is one of the four, specially prioritised areas of SIDA's work.
* Sweden is planning economic support, via UNDP, for the development of democracy in countries previously within the Soviet Union. This support will be aimed at, inter alia, measures which counteract inequality.
