record for official development assistance, driven by support for kyiv

Official development assistance worldwide reached a record $223.7 billion last year, driven mainly by aid to Ukraine and an increase in aid to developing countries, according to the OECD’s annual report published Thursday.

Fifth consecutive record

This is the fifth annual record in a row, underlines the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, whose Development Assistance Committee (DAC) brings together the main providers of public aid in the world.

In 2023, aid to war-torn Ukraine increased by 9% to $20 billion, including $3.2 billion in humanitarian aid.

Aid to the West Bank and Gaza also increased by 12% to $1.4 billion, including $758 million (+91%) in humanitarian aid, according to the OECD. Globally, humanitarian aid increased by 4.8% in 2023 to $25.9 billion.

Below UN targets

By 2022, official development assistance had reached $211 billion. The progression calculated “in real terms” is 1.8% according to the OECD, in line with growth of 1.7% last year in the developed countries it represents.

Overall, total public development assistance represents, as in 2022, 0.37% of the cumulative gross national product (GNP) of DAC donors, calculated the OECD, thus remaining below the objective of 0 .7% set by the United Nations.

Five countries, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway and Sweden, exceeded this target, the main donors in absolute terms being the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and France .

Climate change and increasing inequalities

In 2023, according to the OECD, aid increased in 14 of the 31 DAC countries and decreased in the other 17: one of the reasons for this decline is often linked to the drop in aid to refugees, according to the OECD .

“With slowing growth and increasing debt service, developing countries now face additional budgetary pressures and an increased risk of debt distress,” observed OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann, at during a press conference.

Added to this are “long-term challenges such as climate change and increasing inequalities, which aggravate these pressures. We must therefore remain focused and determined to help the most vulnerable achieve their economic development and growth goals,” he added.