Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation


The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation is an office-level agency in the federal administration of Switzerland, and a part of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Together with other federal offices, SDC is responsible for overall coordination of Swiss international development activities and cooperation with Eastern Europe, as well as humanitarian aid.
As of 2015, the SDC is led by Director-General Manuel Sager. It has a staff of 536, no revenues and annual expenditures of CHF 1,433 million.
According to the OECD, 2019 official development assistance from Switzerland increased 0.6% to USD 3.1 billion.

Organisation and tasks

The Swiss constitution states that Switzerland contributes to the alleviation of hardship and poverty in the world, to respect for human rights, and to the promotion of democracy and the peaceful coexistence of nations. The SDC is charged with implementing this mission.
The SDC’s activities are divided into three areas:
Swiss bilateral development assistance is as of 2008 focused on 17 priority countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Cooperation with Eastern Europe centres on ten countries in South-Eastern Europe and the CIS. At the multilateral level, the SDC works with UN agencies, the World Bank and regional development banks.
The SDC’s specialist units are grouped in the Thematic and Technical Resources Department. They focus mainly on conflict prevention, good governance, social development, employment and income, natural resources and the environment.