Sweden shocked the international development world recently when it announced plans to use almost one-fifth of its annual aid budget to cover the costs of hosting Ukrainian refugees domestically.
The move is allowed under Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development rules on aid accounting, though local civil society and politicians, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, decried the decision, saying it could trigger a “domino effect” from other top donors. Since then, Norway has also announced plans to reallocate around $400 million in official development assistance for internal refugee costs — earning its prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, a call this week from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
Meeting with European Union development officials in Brussels on Friday, Filippo Grandi — the U.N. high commissioner for refugees — told reporters his message would be that despite the costs for European countries of hosting refugees and rebuilding Ukraine, “this is not the time to reduce ODA.”