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Norwegian aid level nosedives in wake of spiking war-time economy
New estimates of Gross National Income (GNI) show that the Norwegian economy has received a huge boost due to spiking oil prices and war, this time in Iran. Development Today has calculated that the current aid budget is on a path to 0.92 per cent of GNI, far below the level presented in the revised budget Tuesday, which uses old economic forecasts.
Capital nation: the Norwegian oil fund’s discreet role in international aid
The Norwegian oil fund has invested NOK 88 billion in fixed-income securities issued by international organisations. Many of these bonds finance development programmes initiated by institutions like the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the vaccine alliance GAVI. The fund has not incurred losses on these bonds, and its largest investments are in EU institutions, where further exposure is expected in the years ahead.
Sida commits lion’s share of humanitarian funds to 25 crises around the world
In a first tranche, Sweden’s aid agency Sida commits SEK 2.74 billion in humanitarian assistance to 25 acute humanitarian crises, directed through UN agencies, the Red Cross and three European relief organisations. Humanitarian aid is among few areas spared in a shrinking Swedish aid budget, according to Development Minister Benjamin Dousa.
World Bank recruits Danish lawyer to become its new chief anti-corruption officer
The World Bank has appointed the Danish lawyer Maria Thestrup as its new Vice President of Integrity. Thestrup joins from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, where she has served as Chief Ethics, Risk and Compliance Officer. The Danish lawyer has more than two decades of international experience from humanitarian organisations, global health institutions, and the private pharmaceutical sector.
Sweden’s aid surge rests on future promises, sharp drop looms
Sweden’s overseas development aid (ODA) apparently surged last year due to an accounting quirk under which Stockholm crammed more than USD 1 billion in multi-year pledges to the World Bank and Green Climate Fund into the ledger for 2025. The reported 9.6 per cent rise in aid in the OECD’s preliminary tally for 2025 masks a three-year budget freeze and will herald a likely nosedive in aid reported to the OECD this year from 2025’s total.
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Bjørn H Amland, Editor-in-Chief