Sweden’s right-wing government announced on Friday that it will discontinue development aid to four African countries and shut down three embassies as part of a major policy shift aimed at increasing financial support for Ukraine.
Development Aid Minister Benjamin Dousa said Sweden will phase out aid to Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Liberia, and Bolivia beginning next year. As part of the restructuring, Stockholm will also close its embassies in Bolivia, Liberia, and Zimbabwe, where development aid has been the primary focus of diplomatic engagement.
Dousa explained that the changes are intended to free up resources to expand Sweden’s assistance to Ukraine.
“The government plans to increase aid to Ukraine to at least 10 billion Swedish kronor (about $1.06 billion). This means we are now focusing nearly 20 percent of our total aid toward this specific cause,” he said.
Over the past 25 years, Sweden has provided more than 50 billion kronor in development aid to the four African nations affected by the cuts. Tanzania alone has received more than 70 billion kronor since 1962.
Despite Sweden’s long history as one of the world’s most generous aid donors, Dousa argued that the country’s traditional approach has not always produced meaningful results. He pointed to a 2016 study by Swedish experts which found that Swedish aid had only a “marginally positive” impact on poverty reduction in Tanzania during one period, and in another period had a negative effect due to reduced incentives for reform.
“For far too long, Swedish aid has been too scattered. We have been like a water sprinkler, and the result is insufficient oversight,” Dousa said. “In many cases, we don’t even know if our support has been of any use at all.”
He added that several countries, particularly in Africa, have developed what he described as “aid addiction,” suggesting that long-term support may have discouraged needed economic and governance reforms.
Policy Aligned With Government’s Immigration Agenda
Dousa emphasized that Sweden’s humanitarian aid will not be affected by the policy shift.
The decision aligns with the priorities of Sweden’s minority government, which is supported by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.
The government is increasingly linking development assistance to its migration efforts—directing more aid to countries near conflict zones to help them host displaced people, and requiring aid recipient countries to accept the return of nationals convicted of crimes in Sweden.
The shift follows Sweden’s earlier announcement that it would end development aid to Iraq, signaling a broader restructuring of its foreign aid strategy.
As Stockholm redirects resources toward Ukraine amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, the withdrawal of long-standing development assistance has raised questions about the future of Sweden’s partnerships across parts of Africa and Latin America.
