Sweden cuts aid to 5 countries to free up financial support to Ukraine

The Swedish government will phase out development aid to at least five countries in 2026 as part of an effort to significantly increase assistance to Ukraine. This announcement was made by Sweden's minister for international development cooperation and foreign trade, Benjamin Dousa, at a press conference on Friday. The funding shift will see aid to Ukraine increase to at least SEK 10 billion ($1 billion), Dousa confirmed. To balance the budget, aid will cease entirely for Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Liberia, and Bolivia. The Swedish embassies in Bolivia, Liberia, and Zimbabwe will also close. “The money has to come from somewhere to balance the budget,” Dousa said. He also noted that, in the government’s view, aid has not always had the desired effect, sometimes creating dependency rather than development. The ministry's press release framed the move as "laying the foundation for a changed partnership with common trade and foreign policy interests at its core," ensuring the aid is "being phased out in a responsible and orderly manner.” The minister stressed that critical support would not be withdrawn. Humanitarian aid will remain unaffected, and he guaranteed that “AIDS prevention and other important health interventions, things that literally save lives, will not be affected by this.” In 2024, Sweden contributed around $85 million for Mozambique, $57 million for Tanzania, $37 million for Liberia, $36 million for Zimbabwe, and $17 million for Bolivia. The announcement is also the latest in a series of reductions, as Sweden has cut aid to more than 10 countries since 2022. Aid organizations are raising alarms about the potential impact. Three of Oxfam’s ongoing projects in Zimbabwe and Mozambique will be “worst affected by today’s decision,” Suzanne Standfast, Oxfam Sweden’s secretary-general, told Devex. “[They] will have to be phased out earlier than expected.” “The Swedish government is working towards dismantling the longstanding tradition of Swedish development aid for ideological reasons,” Standfast said. “Poverty eradication is clearly not seen as a pressing issue.” Julia Schalk, WaterAid's head of policy and program partnerships, highlighted a current cholera outbreak in Africa, hitting Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. “The future of many of these people will be negatively affected," Schalk wrote to Devex. "When aid to African countries is cut off amid the largest cholera outbreak on the continent in 25 years, an already critical situation risks worsening.”