PUNCHING HOLES INTO A FRAGILE ECONOMY?

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are playing an increasingly important role as agents of development. The growth and expansion of NGOs across the globe is testament to their growing role in the development process. Effective partnerships between governments and NGOs are recognised as being crucial in accelerating sustainable development. The role of NGOs is even more important in Low-Income Countries (LICs) where the fiscal space is limited. NGOs offer a broad range of services that include: health, education, social protection, humanitarian assistance, livelihood interventions, emergency response, conflict resolution, democracy building, environmental management, and policy analysis and advocacy. NGOs across the world help to amplify the voice as well enable inclusion of marginalized groups,including women, persons with disabilities and minority ethnic groups so that ‘no one is left behind.’ Creating an enabling environment for NGOs to operate is recognised as being critical for the attainment of the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.