Lidy Nacpil, Coordinator of Asian People's Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), rued that the FfD4 outcome document was a 'done deal' as it had already been finalised at least two weeks before the meet began, and governments did not make any major decisions that changed the text that had been already negotiated even before the governments began the in-person meet.
Lidy said that there was a lack of transparency throughout the whole negotiation process at this meet. Its outcome document was influenced and shaped by the Global North countries - the 'blockers' of any real progress. According to her, absence of accountability and restrictions of civil society participation were major impediments. With no civil society space at this intergovernmental meet, feminists and other civil society activists were forced to mobilise and stage historical actions inside the meeting venue.
"Meeting outcomes failed to make any meaningful progress on establishing a global financing framework that was centred on human rights and upheld the principle of CBDR (Common But Differentiated Responsibilities). The outcome document failed to make meaningful progress on environmental harm caused by colonialism, patriarchy, slavery, and resource extraction from the Global South. Outcome document also failed to prioritise public financing for high quality essential services and move beyond an over reliance on private finance to fill in development financing gaps. It failed to address the equity for income distribution. And it failed to call for reparations for the economic and environmental harm caused by colonialism, patriarchy, slavery, and resource extraction from the global south. The outcome document did not take on ecological and climate breakdown as cross-cutting issues. It did not clearly acknowledge the need to phase out fossil fuels", said Lidy.
Shereen Talaat, Founder and Director of Middle East and North Africa Feminist Movement for Economic, Development and Ecological Justice, lamented that gender equality financing dropped to 42% of official development assistance in 2022 and only 4% of it had gender as a primary objective and less than 1% reached feminist and women rights organisations. Meanwhile, conflict-related sexual violence is up by 50%, as women face war and displacements. Shereen reiterated that the outcome document of fourth financing for development does not matter for people, especially those from the Global South. It only matters for existing global economic and capitalist systems.
These issues were discussed at a SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights) session co-hosted by International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) 2025, Family Planning News Network (FPNN), Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR), Asia Pacific Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media) and CNS.
There was a general consensus among the speakers that overall the outcome document of fourth financing for development meet lacks genuine ambition for systemic transformation. It is painfully clear that a gender and human rights approach to financing was not mainstreamed in the text and the idea of feminist values were completely missing.
There is a long way ahead for feminist restructuring of the global financial architecture. Top down decision making has to be replaced with women, girls, and all gender diverse peoples becoming co-creators and co-leaders of a gender-just and rights-based economic future. The global financial architecture should be based on care, human rights, justice and reparations. It should replace the current colonial financial architecture that continues to use unsustainable and illegitimate debt as a tool of oppression, and undermines peace. Also, as the Political Declaration of the Feminist Forum organised ahead of the fourth financing for development meet had rightly said, no real financing justice can be reached without an urgent end to escalating wars, territorial invasions and genocides.
Let us make frustration our energy
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