The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has defended its wealthy member countries’ aid efforts after development assistance spent on hosting refugees at home and helping Ukraine soared last year, while bilateral support to Africa and least-developed countries decreased.
NGOs and commentators expressed alarm at preliminary data released Wednesday by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee. Oxfam called it “obscene” and a “farce” that leading donors could report $29.3 billion or 14.4% of their combined official development assistance as in-donor refugee costs — certain expenses incurred assisting refugees living inside their own borders, which countries may count toward their ODA under some conditions.
That’s up from $12.8 billion in 2021. The previous peak for in-donor refugee costs in 2016, amid the war in Syria, was $16 billion, or 11% of total ODA at the time.