Tilde Addenbrooke receives the Swedish government's Ukraine award. Well-known volunteer Tilde Addenbrooke is one of the recipients of the government's award for Swedish volunteer efforts in Ukraine. The award also goes to Help Ukraine Gothenburg. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

Development Sweden #73. Sweden abandons more and more ”difficult” countries where the human rights situation is particularly difficult. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

Development Sweden #73. Outrage as Swedish aid to Myanmar is phased out By June 2026, development aid will have been completely phased out. Instead, the money will go to Ukraine. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

New Issue of Development Sweden is out. Read about Ukraine, Sida, Boston Consulting group, Save the Children and Global Child Forum. developmentsweden.substack.com/p/developmen...

Development Sweden #71. Here is how corruption in Ukraine can be reduced. Also in this issue, despite criticism the royal foundation Global Child Forum will continue working with Boston Consulting Group.

Development Sweden #70. Sweden stops ODA to Afghanistan – drastic cuts in Asia and Africa programs The Swedish government has decided to do drastic cuts in the ODA to Asia and Africa, while increasing the support to Ukraine even more (and at the same time fund export by Swedish companies).

Development Sweden #68. How the Sida boss became the puppet of the populist right wing  The Director General of Sida has singlehanded decided to defund the development programs of Palme Center and SILC. Has the Sida boss become the puppet of the populist right wing or what can explain his actions?

Women's rights defender Ana Ruth García from Honduras is awarded the Swedish 2025 Per Anger Prize for her work for women's and girls' rights. Through her organisation, Ecuménicas, she spreads knowledge about sexual and reproductive health. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SAK) has had a tumultuous couple of years since the Taliban regime banned all Swedish activities in Afghanistan. But despite the ban, SAK will carry on its work. ”We continue to fight for the women of Afghanistan”. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

International criticism of Rwanda is growing following the aggressive involvement in the war in the DRC, where large areas are now controlled by the Rwanda-funded rebel group M23. Sweden is now halting all new agreements with state actors in Rwanda. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

Development Sweden #62. Time for Sweden to change its mind on UNRWA. Despite Israel's decision, UNRWA continues to operate. Resumed Swedish support to UNRWA will continue to be of great benefit. Opinion piece by Johan Schaar, former head of Swedish aid to Palestine in developmentsweden.substack.com

On March 31, the UN revealed that Israel had executed fifteen aid workers, including from the Red Cross/Red Crescent. Despite this, reactions from world leaders are cautious – or even non-existent. Read the reactions from Swedish government and the opposition at developmentsweden.substack.com/

The closure of USAID has hit humanitarian work hard, not least the systems that support humanitarian operations. That is why Sweden is providing an additional SEK 100 million for, among other things, data collection on humanitarian needs. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com/

Development Sweden #61. The Somali government has declared the head of Swedish Development Cooperation Anna Saleem Högberg persona non grata. The counsellor and deputy ambassador, who is now expelled, has reportedly smeared the Somali government. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com/

Is it possible to spread knowledge in today’s Russia about historical and contemporary war crimes and human rights violations? Why is Putin so afraid of Russia’s history? Read the conversation with Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organization Memorial at developmentsweden.substack.com

Nordic countries are still the happiest in the world. Finland is number 1 and Sweden is number 4 according to the World Happiness Report 2025. But what makes a country happy? Is there a link between happiness and politics in a country? Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

Development Sweden #60. What can we learn from 20 years in Afghanistan? For 20 years, Sweden invested enormous resources in both aid and military operations in Afghanistan. When the Taliban took over, most of it was swept away. What lessons can we learn? Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

Development Sweden #59. What happens to those who must leave their jobs as civil society reduces its workforce? Also in this issue: The Swedish government will reduce aid to Mozambique. The UN criticizes Sweden in a review, concerning deportation cases. Read more at: developmentsweden.substack.com/

Development Sweden #58. Sweden is increasing its aid to Ukraine with over 1.4 billion SEK. This means that more than 14% of the 2025 aid budget will be allocated to the country, something that has likely never happened before in Sweden. Read more at: developmentsweden.substack.com/

Ukrainian refugees must be given long-term security in Sweden. This issue also features a commentary on the World Bank’s poverty report and an interview with the Swedish Postcode Lottery about funding Swedish organizations in the field of development. Read more at: developmentsweden.substack.com/

Development Sweden #56. Fundraising efforts during Ramadan in Sweden were previously led almost exclusively by Muslim organizations. Now nearly ten different Swedish organizations are actively raising funds during the Muslim fasting month. Read more at: developmentsweden.substack.com

Under pressure, both ForumCiv and the Swedish Mission Council (SMR) are now submitting applications in the form of consortia ahead of Sida’s deadline on February 28, 2025. Through this, they hope to secure support for future programs. Read more at: developmentsweden.substack.com

Development Sweden #55. The selection process for the major civil society organizations is now entering its final stage. At the same time, the announcement of upcoming programs is awaited. Will Sida be able to complete everything on time? Read more at: developmentsweden.substack.com/

In January 2025, IFAD issued its second 900 million SEK bond with Swedish pension fund Kåpan and insurance company Skandia as the main investors. The bond finances sustainable growth and rural development in developing countries. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

Sweden is providing an additional 100 million SEK in energy support to Moldova. The aim is to help households most affected by Russia’s halt of gas supplies. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com/

Development Sweden #54. How Swedish organisations are affected by the USAID crisis. Around the world, organisations are being forced to lay off staff and suspend operations. However, Swedish organisations seem to be coping relatively well. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com/

USAID: Swedish company among those affected. USAID is one of the major funders of innovative approaches to global health. Now all work is paused and no one knows if it will continue. One of those affected is the Uppsala-based start-up Enaiblers. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com/

USAID crisis: ”Sweden must now increase aid”. The Swedish Green Party’s spokesperson on development policy, Janine Alm Ericson: ”The government must increase aid and seek alliances to counteract the worst consequences”. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com/

Development Sweden #53. ”Communication with USAID is completely broken”. Sweden has a large number of co-operation projects with USAID. Sida and embassy staff receive no information whatsoever about what is happening. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com/

The Swedish Government and Save the Children have entered into a humanitarian partnership which means that Save the Children will receive SEK 30 million in 2025 to protect children in crises and conflicts. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com/

Opinion: Scary that the ‘salesmen’ at Business Sweden should manage aid. Business Sweden is a sales organisation for Swedish companies with no expertise in sustainability issues, writes sustainability consultant John Wallace Andersson. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com/

Development Sweden #52. Civil society: The onward funding is to be limited. This is one of the key points in the government’s new strategy for civil society. Sida is now conducting a survey of the extent of onward funding. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com/

Development Sweden #52. ”Stop the aid to Rwanda”. Sweden is now increasing humanitarian aid to those affected by Rwanda’s warfare in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the same time, Sweden is supporting the Rwandan government with aid. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com/

Opinion: Mixed Messages on Humanitarian Aid. The government states in its reform agenda that humanitarian aid will be strengthened. Yet, aid through Sida is being reduced. Opinion by Johan Schaar, former head of aid to Palestine and member of EBA. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com/

The Swedish government has allocated 4.3 billion SEK for a new strategy focusing on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for 2025–2029. The initiative targets the most vulnerable groups in low- and middle-income countries. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com/

Development Sweden #51. The Swedish Government continues to reduce the budget for development cooperation. By the end of this year the Sida Partnership Forum and Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) training centres in Northern Sweden will be shut down. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

The Swedish ODA financed support to Ukraine is more than twice as large as to any other country. The government is now providing additional support through MSEK 110 for ‘Grain from Ukraine’, MSEK 120 to the World Bank's Ukraine and Moldova Crisis Facility. Read more developmentsweden.substack.com

The Swedish Government is allocating SEK 350 million to Sida and SEK 25 million to the Swedish Migration Agency for migration initiatives to be financed from the ODA budget in 2025. This is stated in the Government’s appropriation directions for the agencies. Read more developmentsweden.substack.com

Aid channelled through Sida is being cut by 11 percent compared to 2024, while the total volume of aid is also being reduced. The government is also making a very large cut in support for the CERF, an important fund for emergency response. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

Development Sweden #50. The Swedish government is ending its support for UNRWA despite the UN’s common position to support the UN agency that provides aid to Palestinian refugees. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

Minister Benjamin Dousa in Palestine: “Shocked to See With My Own Eyes”. On December 16, Development Minister Benjamin Dousa visited the West Bank in Palestine. According to people who later met with him, the visit made a strong impression. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

At the end of November, Sida’s Director General, Jakob Granit, travelled to Israel and Palestine for three days without meeting with any Palestinian organisations. “Scandal!” say several people at Sida. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

‪Development Sweden #49. Sida has stopped supporting several Palestinian human rights organisations and the Swedish Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme. Sources tell us that several of the organisations support the ongoing legal proceedings against Israel. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

Anna Sundström Appointed New Head of IRC. The former Secretary General of the Olof Palme International Center is returning to the aid sector. In January 2025, she will take on the role of Nordic Director for the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

Mozambique: ”Sweden Must Act Against TotalEnergies”. Displaced families, uncompensated communities and widespread war crimes. Anabela Lemos and the organization Justiça Ambiental! (JA!) are calling for Sweden to take action against the oil and gas company. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

The Swedish government has decided to end its support for UNAIDS starting in 2025. With the possibility of Trump limiting funding for PEPFAR – the world’s largest fund in the fight against HIV and AIDS – who will step up to fund the continued efforts? Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

Development Sweden #48. The elimination of onward funding by Swedish organizations is a cornerstone of the government's aid policy. Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa suggests that all onward funding might be illegal. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

Swedish development aid to Yemen will be phased out during 2025. The reason is the ongoing war and the ‘destructive behaviour’ of the Houthis, says minister Benjamin Dousa. However, humanitarian aid will continue. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com

High integrity a must for ODA staff members. Every time an individual case comes to the surface, trust in Swedish aid and the management of public funds risks being undermined, writes Parul Sharma, Secretary General of The Swedish Anti-Corruption Institute. developmentsweden.substack.com

Development Sweden #47. Why the Swedish Migration Strategy for Aid is incompatible with the OECD/DAC principles. Forced repatriation, border controls and return of migrants linked to the donor country’s migration policy do not qualify as aid. Read more at developmentsweden.substack.com