War and conflict characterize Norwegian aid

Last year, Norway gave NOK 58.6 billion to aid and development. This is an increase of NOK 9 billion from 2022. The five largest recipient countries of Norwegian aid in 2023 are all affected by war: Ukraine, Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan and Ethiopia. Almost 40 percent of the world’s population lives in countries with conflict, and the number of people living in humanitarian need has doubled since 2018.

– Crises, wars and conflicts affect how we use the aid money. When more and more goes to emergency aid and firefighting, we run the risk of this going beyond the longer-term effort, says Norad director Bård Vegar Solhjell.

– More and more people are living in a triple crisis, where the climate crisis, conflict and war in combination with deep poverty create major challenges for development. If we are to have any chance of achieving the sustainability goals at all, we must combine humanitarian efforts with long-term development aid to a greater extent, Solhjell continues.

Read the report Numbers that count – statistics on Norwegian development aid in 2023

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Norwegian emergency aid amounted to NOK 12.4 billion in 2023, an increase of NOK 3.9 billion from 2022. The increase was for all regions, and the largest increase was in emergency aid to Africa. At country level, the largest increase was for Ukraine, Palestine and Sudan.

Africa is still the region that overall receives the most Norwegian aid, while aid to Europe is increasing the most. Internationally, we see that Ukraine was the largest recipient country of aid from official donors in history with over 40 billion dollars – and the preliminary figures suggest that Ukraine exceeded the total aid to sub-Saharan Africa.

Total aid to Ukraine from the DAC countries, which consists of the member countries of the OECD Development Committee, and the EU institutions amounted to USD 40.5 billion in 2023.

Aid from Norway increased to almost all regions last year. Aid to the Middle East increased by over NOK 1 billion. This is the highest level aid to the Middle East has been at in the last ten years. The increase consisted almost entirely of emergency aid. NOK 1.2 billion went to Palestine, an increase of over 80 per cent from last year, as a result of the war in Gaza.

Aid to Europe increases the most

The Nansen program for Ukraine is the largest Norwegian aid program ever. The program covers both Ukraine and Moldova. Ukraine was the largest recipient of Norwegian aid last year with NOK 7.9 billion.

-Norwegian civil and humanitarian support are important contributions to Ukraine in their defense struggle. We help ensure that they can keep society going and that the state can deliver basic services to the population, even if they are at war. In addition, we help to ensure energy access, humanitarian aid, and support strong local communities, says Solhjell.

Africa still the largest recipient of Norwegian aid

At the same time as an enormous increase in aid to Europe, Norway has maintained and increased the level of support to countries in Africa. A total of NOK 10.2 billion went to Africa. The increase largely consists of aid for agriculture, fisheries and food security, as well as emergency aid.

– In a number of African countries, we see that several crises strike at the same time and lead to major humanitarian needs. The number of conflicts has almost doubled from 2010 to 2023. We also know that poverty is the seed of conflict – and that conflict leads to more people living in poverty. The need for aid is enormous, says Solhjell.

At the same time as the Nansen program for Ukraine, the Storting also adopted a one-year extra allocation of NOK 5 billion in 2023 for developing countries that are particularly affected by the ripple effects of the war. This additional allocation is contributing to the increase in aid to Africa and the Middle East, and that Africa is still the region that receives the most Norwegian aid. Much of this contributed greatly to the increase in aid for agriculture, fisheries and food security and also for climate adaptation.

– The financing gap is large

– Although Norway and the international community have never before given more to emergency aid, it is far from enough. Only 40 percent of the UN’s emergency aid appeals are funded. The funding gap is large, says Solhjell.

The gap to reach all the UN’s sustainability goals by 2030 has also increased. According to the latest figures from the UN, the funding gap is now 4,000 billion dollars annually.

– It is impossible to achieve the sustainability goals only with the help of public assistance. We must mobilize even more and get the private sector on board to an even greater extent, says Solhjell and continues:

– In Norwegian aid, we work purposefully to mobilize private investment in developing countries and to contribute to countries mobilizing more of their own resources. Both parts are critical for countries to become independent of aid.