“Major OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members have been revising their aid budgets to address the humanitarian crisis created in the wake of the war in Ukraine” write Carina Strøm-Sedgwick (Research Assistant, Peace Research Institute Oslo, PRIO) and Pinar Tank (Senior Researcher, PRIO) in the recent PRIO policy brief, “The Impact of the Ukraine War on Donor Priorities.”

In this brief, Strøm-Sedgwick and Tank examine the consequences of these aid revisions for recipient communities in the Global South. The authors find donors are increasingly using Official Development Assistance (ODA) to cover expenses of refugee-hosting at home and post-war reconstruction costs will be a further drain on resources. The brief also notes OECD-DAC countries have increased their defence and military spending, which is limiting funds for development assistance, with defence budget increases likely to continue in the long-term. Read more and download the policy brief here.

In a follow-up PRIO policy brief, Strøm-Sedgwick and Tank also examine the shifting priorities of donors following the Ukraine war, with a particular focus on the role of emerging donors, “many of whom are not part of the OECD DAC and whose approaches to assistance differ methodologically and conceptually from those of traditional donors.” In this brief, the authors consider emerging donor engagement in key Global South countries, noting their financial contributions, methodological approaches and aid priorities. Read more and download the policy brief here.

Both briefings form part of the research project “Consequences of the Invasion of Ukraine for the Global South” led by Nicholas Marsh (Senior Researcher) at PRIO.