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Sweden bolsters humanitarian assistance with SEK 775 million

Government Offices of Sweden

Press release from Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Published 29 September 2025

The humanitarian situation in the world is serious. War, conflict and famine are affecting millions of people, at the same time as funding for life-saving efforts is decreasing. Together with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Government is today presenting a comprehensive support package of SEK 775 million to improve international humanitarian assistance.

"The humanitarian situation in the world is dire. People are starving in Sudan and Gaza. Millions are being forced to flee their homes. Many lack access to emergency care. At the same time, the humanitarian system is under extraordinary strain due to inadequate funding. With this support package, we are strengthening life-saving efforts to those in greatest need and showing that compassion still matters," says Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa.

"Solidarity between people does not only exist within national borders. The need is great and famine is raging in parts of Sudan and Gaza. Our responsibility for our fellow human beings extends beyond our own borders. This is why we are now allocating an extra SEK 775 million to organisations that reach people who need our help to survive," says Gudrun Brunegård, development assistance policy spokesperson for the Christian Democrats.

According to the UN, more than 300 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. At the same time, the funding situation is serious. Hundreds of local organisations have been forced to phase out their operations this year, and millions of people need help. The new support package totalling SEK 775 million for 2025 includes SEK 375 million in new support approved by the Government and SEK 400 million from Sida. Funding from the Government is going to support the work of key actors in the humanitarian system. SEK 125 million is going to the UN World Food Programme, SEK 115 million to UNICEF, SEK 75 million to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, SEK 50 million to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and SEK 10 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Funding is being provided as core support, which gives recipient organisations the possibility to act where need is greatest, and promotes their operational efficiency. This is a principled effort at a time when the humanitarian system is under severe pressure - and a clear signal that Sweden's humanitarian assistance must be directed to where it can make most difference.

"We distribute the majority of humanitarian assistance early in the year so that our partner organisations can act quickly and save lives. Towards the end of the year, we use the funds that remain in reserve and allocate support to where need is greatest, to crises where people risk not getting the help they need to survive," says Sida Director-General Jakob Granit.

Sida complements the Ministry for Foreign Affairs' broad funding of the humanitarian system with targeted support to specific crises and to civil society organisations with humanitarian mandates. This maximises the impact of Sweden's overall development assistance.

SEK 303 million is going to humanitarian operations in 10 major and especially severe crises. These are Sudan, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, South Sudan, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Ethiopia, where Sida is using a needs-based allocation model to ensure that humanitarian needs are what determine allocations rather than other factors such as media attention.

An additional SEK 77 million will be distributed to humanitarian partner organisations from civil society through Sida's fast-track funding mechanism, which enables aid organisations to respond effectively to rapidly escalating crises, such as natural disasters and worsening conflicts.

Sida is also increasing its support to the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), which facilitates the provision of emergency aid to people in inaccessible places. UNHAS serves the entire humanitarian system and is fully in line with Sweden's focus on increasing the efficiency of development assistance.   

The distribution of funds among crises is as follows: