Wealthy donor nations are failing to act on calls to cut the record amounts of aid they are spending at home on housing asylum seekers, which continues to swallow up almost $1 in every $7 of declared assistance.
A 2023 plea from the head of OECD’s Development Assistance Committee — which oversees Official Development Assistance, or ODA, rules — urged its members to “act on the side of caution” before allocating aid to in-donor refugee costs, or IDRC.
But official figures released by DAC show the dial barely budged in 2023 when 14.6% of all ODA spent by its members went on domestic refugee costs. In 2002, the proportion was 14.7%.
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About the author
Rob Merrick
Rob Merrick is the U.K. Correspondent for Devex, covering FCDO and British aid. He reported on all the key events in British politics of the past 25 years from Westminster, including the financial crash, the Brexit fallout, the "Partygate" scandal, and the departures of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Rob has worked for The Independent and the Press Association and is a regular commentator on TV and radio. He can be reached at rob.merrick@devex.com.
