International aid from official donors fell 7.1% in 2024: OECD

KATHMANDU: International aid from official donors fell in 2024 by 7.1% in real terms compared to 2023, the first drop after five years of consecutive growth, according to preliminary data collected by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The decline in official development assistance (ODA) is due to a reduction in contributions to international organisations, as well as a decrease in aid for Ukraine, lower levels of humanitarian aid and reduced spending on hosting refugees in donor countries, the OECD said in a press release on Wednesday.

OECD is an intergovernmental organization of 38 member countries. It was founded in 1961 to promote economic progress and world trade.

ODA by member countries of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) amounted to $212.1 billion in 2024, representing 0.33% of DAC members’ combined GNI. “Pressures on development finance and developing countries’ growth are increasing,” OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said in the release. “Optimising the effectiveness of available official development assistance will help developing countries manage these fiscal pressures, make essential investments in growth, and protect the most vulnerable.”

According to the OECD, net ODA to Ukraine fell by 16.7% in real terms compared to 2023 and amounted to $15.5 billion, representing 7.4% of total net ODA.

Humanitarian aid dropped by an estimated 9.6% in 2024, amounting to $24.2 billion. ODA used to cover refugee costs within donor countries fell by 17.3% in 2024 to $27.8 billion. For five countries, in-donor refugee costs still represented more than a quarter of their ODA in 2024.

US continued to be the largest provider of ODA ($63.3 billion), accounting for 30% of total DAC ODA in 2024, followed by Germany ($32.4 billion), the United Kingdom ($18.0 billion), Japan ($16.8 billion) and France ($15.4 billion).

Net bilateral aid flows from DAC members to the group of least developed countries (LDCs) reached $35 billion, a fall of 3% in real terms compared to 2023.