As other Swedish government agencies, Sida works independently within the framework laid down by the Swedish Parliament and Government. They specify the budgets, the countries with which Sweden - and thereby Sida - is to work with, and the focus of Swedish international development cooperation.
Sida is a global organisation. Its head office is in Sweden and it has field offices in some 50 countries. Its total staff (excluding those on leave of absence) numbers 812, of whom 188 work in the field at some 50 embassies and section offices. These figures are taken from Sida's annual report for 2006.
Those working abroad are both staff on secondment from Sweden and local employees. They have in-depth knowledge of the local situation and are responsible for contacts in the partner countries.
In the early 1990s, Russia began to abandon the old Soviet system and develop a democratic market economy. The transition is a complicated and demanding one, and the problems are immense. Many people live in poverty and a state of powerlessness. Sweden's development cooperation supports this transition and is directed at helping Russia's harmonisation with the EU and its common value systems. Working on the basis of Russia's needs of reform, Sida is focusing is efforts on areas where Sweden can contribute its own experience and serve as a good example. Sida also insists on an equality perspective in all its projects.
Sida’s operations in Russia are designed to promote continued reforms towards just and sustainable national development. Working on the basis of the Russia’s needs, Sida targets its projects to areas where Sweden has recognised and sought-after competence. The support given has been relatively far-reaching, although a phase-out has begun which is due to terminate completely in 2010. Key areas of cooperation are democracy, human rights, the environment and social sectors.
It is important to note the strong element of mutual benefit in Sweden's development cooperation with Russia. Northern Europe is safer with an open and democratic Russia that operates an effective market economy and enjoys good relations with its neighbours. The more and stronger the business, cultural and human contacts there, the greater the benefit to both Sweden and Russia. A healthier environment and reduced emissions is good for all the countries around the Baltic Sea.
Democratic Development
The objectives are to help strengthen Russian democracy and promote respect for human rights and the principles of the constitutional state.
Projects are underway in the field of law in partnership with the National Judiciary Administration and the National Prison and Probation Administration. Other areas of cooperation are public administration and budget reform. Extensive twinning projects between Sweden and Russia help to strengthen local democracy. Sweden is also supporting efforts to develop the mass media and educational institutions in order to help build up an independent media. There is also a great deal of collaboration between Swedish and Russian NGOs, which is expected to have a positive effect on the development of Russian civil society.
Sida also contributes to specific equality-promoting projects in public administration, to the drafting of equality legislation, and to efforts to strengthen the role of men in the family. Sida is also now supporting development and human rights in Northern Caucasus. Years of armed conflict, unemployment and social misery have upset stability and security in the region. In 2005, the Russian government invited the international community to help in its efforts to bring about economic growth there. Sida is financing several such incentives through the UNDP. Sida is also supporting a number of international and Russian NGOs working to ensure that human rights are being observed in the region.
Economic Reform
As Russia's economy has grown, contributions to economic reforms have declined. Fifteen years' successful collaboration between Swedish and Russian land surveyors will come to an end in 2007. As part of a support project for the development of enterprise training in ten Russian towns, a total of some 3,000 Russian entrepreneurs have visited Sweden to improve their skills and forge new links. This programme will continue as of 2006 without the support of Sida. The Start-Öst project is helping Swedish SMEs to establish themselves in Russia. There is also a Swedish-Russian project in progress in the forestry sector.
Social Security and Welfare
The aim of Sweden's efforts in this field are to promote the rights of the poor. Much has been done through the joint efforts of Swedish and Russian experts to develop new methods of health and social care. Russia has also begun a major programme focussing on primary care, and other projects (chiefly aimed at young people) are underway regarding the prevention of infectious diseases.In the social services sector, the priority is to find alternatives to the huge Russian orphanages and to develop humane forms of care for the disabled. The role of the family here is increasing, and that of the state decreasing. Another project is working to improve disabled people's access to the labour market.
The spread of HIV/AIDS in Russia is alarmingly rapid. Sida, along with UNAIDS and others, is supporting a major competence development project for key persons in public administration. Russia will greatly step up its own efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in the coming years. Anti-drug projects are also supported by Sida.
The Environment
The objective here is to support the sustainable environmental development of the Baltic Sea region and north-west Russia. Sweden and Finland, alongside the rest of the EU, are the largest foreign donors to the large purification plant that was opened in St Petersburg in 2005. Joint efforts are now being put into making sure that all waste water and sewage from the city's 4.5 million residents receives effective treatment within the next couple of years (there was no purification treatment at all even as late as 1974).
Another major source of pollution for the Baltic Sea is Kaliningrad, which has so far only had mechanical methods for treating its waste water and sewage. Here too a joint international project is underway to build a new treatment plant. Other environmental incentives include the improvement of the district heating system and the reduction of agricultural runoff into the Baltic, while a collaboration project between the Russian and Swedish environmental authorities is helping Russia to meet international environmental targets.
Contact information: Visitors address: Valhallavägen 199, Stockholm, subway station Karlaplan.Tel: 08-698 50 00Fax: 08-20 88 64E-mail: sida@sida.se
Senast uppdaterad: 12.04.2007