Country Profiles
Italy
Context
The Italian international cooperation system is governed by Law 125/2014, which provides the overarching framework for development cooperation activities. Italy’s strategic priorities are outlined in the Three-Year Planning and Policy Document for Development Cooperation Policy, submitted to Parliament for review and subsequently approved by the Council of Ministers.
On 20 June 2025, the Council of Ministers approved the current Document covering the 2024–2026 period. The Document affirms that “Development cooperation is an integral and defining component of Italian foreign policy, aimed at promoting peace, justice, and stability. In this context, the 2024–2026 Three-Year Planning and Policy Document translates the role of development cooperation into action, also as one of the strategic pillars of the Mattei Plan.” The Document frames the African continent primarily as a strategic focus for Italy’s foreign policy, emphasizing its role in mitigating migration and humanitarian crises, although failing to recognize the deeper causes of these phenomena. Italy also reaffirms its commitment to other equally strategic regions, including the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Ukraine. Civil society continues to identify limitations of the Mattei Plan: the measurement of its impact, the lack of transparency in defining and implementing initiatives, and the unequal participation of all actors within the international cooperation system, including the local communities.
In terms of priority sectors, alongside education and training, agriculture and food security, and inclusive and sustainable urban development, the Document highlights health and demography, gender equality, and the empowerment of women. Within this last area, Italy commits to combating gender-based violence (GBV), including harmful practices. Demographic and family planning policies are mentioned as part of more general international cooperation activities, but sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are no longer considered a specific priority.
Policies & funding
Preliminary data for 2024 indicate that Italy spent 6.5 billion Euros in Official Development Assistance (ODA) on a gross disbursement basis, ranking as the 8th-largest bilateral donor among DAC members (9th, if the EU institutions are considered). In relative terms, Italy was the 18th-largest donor, with ODA representing 0.28% of the country’s Gross National Income (GNI) in 2024. This marks an increase of approximately 770 million Euros compared to 2023, when total ODA amounted to 5.7 billion Euros.
Although international cooperation does not list SRHR among its priorities, 2024 saw an increase in ODA funds allocated to this sector compared to 2023. Specifically, spending on Sexual and Reproductive Health/Family Planning (SRH/FP) reached 21 million Euros, corresponding to 0.3% of total ODA, up from €18 million in 2023. Allocations for SRHR nonetheless, were kept at the same level as in 2023, amounting to 55 million Euros. This was equivalent to 0.9% of total ODA.
Within multilateral cooperation, and in accordance with the government’s preference for bilateral cooperation, Italy allocates more resources to “Earmarked Multilateral” contributions rather than “Core Multilateral” funding. In fact, in 2024, core contributions for SRH/FP decreased from 7.5 million Euros in 2023 to 5.4 million, and for SRHR from 38 million Euros to 33 million. Conversely, earmarked contributions increased significantly: from 2.5 million Euros in 2023 to 13 million in 2024 for SRH/FP, and from 8 million Euros to 16 million for SRHR.
Among the earmarked contributions, notable initiatives include those addressing humanitarian emergencies in Palestine/Gaza and Haiti, as well as the continuation of several multi-year projects. In 2024, Italy’s contribution to the joint UNFPA/UNICEF program on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) doubled, while funding for the joint UNFPA/UNICEF program on Ending Child Marriage (ECM), which had been provided in 2023, was absent. These changes reflect a certain discontinuity in support for specific projects.
Regarding Government-to-Government initiatives, funding almost doubled, amounting to almost 530.000 Euros in 2024, underscoring Italy’s orientation towards this form of bilateral cooperation, which remains a priority.
However, some sectors where Italy has traditionally demonstrated strong commitment recorded declines in 2024. Specifically, “Costs for Emergency Response” fell from approximately 4.5% of total ODA in 2023 to 3.1% in 2024. Similarly, allocations for “Facilitation of orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility” decreased from 1% of ODA in 2023 to 0.7% in 2024. Meanwhile, the share for “In-donor refugee costs,” often considered a form of ‘inflated aid,’ remained relatively stable at 26% in 2024 (compared to about 27% in 2023).
Internationally vocal
Italy operates within the EU’s consensus-based framework in the multilateral space, despite its domestic political positions showing a growing retreat from sexual and reproductive rights. In this context, the country tends to align with conservative states, promoting language focused on the family rather than individual rights. Nonetheless, in 2025, the country co-signed a joint statement at the 58th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD58) in defence of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and SRHR, and of the need for an ambitious outcome document.
Forecast
At the time of writing, the 2026 Budget Law — currently under review — foresees a reduction of funds up to 163 million Euros over the three years: 63.7 million Euros in 2026, 49.7 million in 2027, and 49.7 million in 2028. The most significant cut affects the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), whose funding could decrease by 9.5–10% in 2026, with further reductions of 7–8% in the subsequent years.
This reduction in resources coincides with an expansion of priority countries for cooperation, from 21 to 38, alongside the promotion of the Mattei Plan. Such a mismatch between ambitions and available funding risks diluting interventions, fragmenting resources and weakening Italy’s role in the most fragile contexts. Equally concerning is the sharp increase in resources allocated to defence and international missions, with an additional 250 million Euros earmarked for the Missions Fund.
Italian civil society has expressed its deep concern for the abovementioned cuts, and has called on the Parliament to restore the full amount of resources over the three-year period and ensure their stability; to treat cooperation funds as mandatory expenditures, similar to other items bound by international commitments; and to establish a progressive and verifiable mechanism to achieve the target of allocating 0.7% of Gross National Income to Official Development Assistance.