Policy Updates

On March 23, 2026, the Swedish government announced a SEK240 million (US$26 million) support package for Ukraine in 2026, channeling SEK150 million (US$17 million) to the Ukrainian Red Cross for humanitarian operations, with remaining funds directed to children's needs through the WFP, UNICEF, OperationAid, and Gen.Ukrainian.

The package prioritizes children's needs, supporting school food provision in frontline areas, reforms for family-based care of children, and children's mental health. Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa stated that the package combined urgent humanitarian assistance with strategic contributions to help children in war-affected areas.

The largest share of the package — SEK150 million (US$17 million) — went to the Ukrainian Red Cross, the country's largest humanitarian organization, to conduct humanitarian operations. Additional funding was directed to the WFP, UNICEF, OperationAid, and Gen.Ukrainian. Support to the WFP, OperationAid, and Gen.Ukrainian aimed to ensure school food access for children near the frontline, while funding to UNICEF focused on strengthening Ukraine's reforms for family-based care of children.

On March 23, 2025, the Swedish government announced a SEK555 million (US$61 million) humanitarian assistance package for Gaza in 2026, directing funds to UNICEF, WFP, and UNDP to improve children's access to health care, education, nutrition, and shelter.

The package targets children and families still facing a humanitarian crisis more than five months after a ceasefire came into effect. Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa stated that virtually all schools in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed and that health care for children remained extremely limited. The package aims to provide around 150,000 children with improved health care, enable around 50,000 children to return to education, provide 80,000 children with nutrition initiatives in the form of school meals, and allow around 1,000 families to move into temporary emergency shelters.

The largest share of the package, SEK400 million (US$44 million), went to UNICEF to improve child health care services, including neonatal care, and to support children's return to education through temporary learning centers offering psychosocial support and protection measures. Meanwhile, WFP received SEK100 million (US$11 million) to provide school meals and support local food production. and UNDP received SEK55 million (US$6 million) to enable 1,000 families to move into temporary shelters.

On March 8, 2026, International Women's Day, Sweden announced more than SEK71 million (US$8 million) to support women's and girls' resilience in Ukraine through UNFPA and UN Women, with Minister for International Development Cooperation and Trade Benjamin Dousa and Minister for Gender Equality Nina Larsson leading the announcement.

The support will contribute to psychosocial support for women and girls, improved maternal care, and protection for women's sexual and reproductive health and rights. Dousa emphasized Ukrainian women's role as the backbone of the country's civilian resilience since Russia's full-scale invasion, while Larsson stated that gender equality is a matter of defense and security and that supporting Ukrainian women is a moral imperative.

On February 24, 2026, Sweden announced SEK230 million (US$25 million) in humanitarian support to Ukraine, to address urgent needs for heating, water, shelter, and food through WFP, UNHCR, UNICEF, ICRC, and Save the Children.

Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa stated that Russia attacked civilian infrastructure on an unprecedented scale during the winter, forcing families to choose between leaving their homes or risking their lives in freezing conditions without electricity in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and other cities. Additionally, UNHCR reported that hundreds of thousands of people could be forced to flee in the coming months if the situation did not improve.

The support package will be distributed as follows:

• SEK75 million (US$8 million) each to WFP and UNHCR;
• SEK65 million (US$7 million) to UNICEF;
• SEK10 million (US$1.1 million) to the ICRC;
• and SEK5 million (US$550,000) to Save the Children.

The organizations will focus on food security, temporary accommodation, children's education, primary healthcare, and mental health support in frontline areas and regions with the greatest needs.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard presented Sweden's 2026 Statement of Foreign Policy in the Riksdag on February 18, 2026, prioritizing support to Ukraine, increased pressure on Russia, stronger security and trade cooperation, and gender equality.

Sweden maintains support to Ukraine as its foremost foreign policy priority, providing SEK114.0 billion (US$12.0 billion) in total assistance since Russia's invasion, and is committed to additional support.

Additionally, Sweden will continue to build closer relations with Allies and partners within Nordic and Nordic-Baltic cooperation and within the EU, as well as contributions to NATO. Moreover, Sweden expressed support for free trade agreements between the EU and India and between the EU and MERCOSUR, emphasizing that these free trade agreements are at the nexus of technology, innovation, trade, and security.

Gender equality remains a core value of Swedish foreign policy and development assistance. Stenergard noted that Swedish ODA must help increase access to pre-natal and maternity care, comprehensive sexual education, as well as measures to combat all forms of sexual and gender-based violence.

On February 5, 2026, the Swedish government announced a SEK1.0 billion (US$110 million) energy support package for Ukraine to address urgent energy needs and rebuild infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes during winter, with SEK600 million (US$66 million) allocated to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund and SEK400 million (US$44 million) to UNDP.

Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa stated that Russian strikes had knocked out electricity, heat, and water supplies for millions of Ukrainians during temperatures of around 20 degrees below zero. Furthermore, Minister for Energy, Business and Industry Ebba Busch noted that Russia used energy infrastructure as a weapon against civilians, calling it an ongoing humanitarian crisis. .

The support addresses acute energy production needs and infrastructure reconstruction while fortifying medium- and long-term energy supplies. Through the funding, Ukraine gains to various types of energy equipment including generators, heat pumps, and spare parts.

On December 8, 2025, Sweden announced that development assistance to five countries—Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Liberia, and Bolivia— will be phased out to redirect at least SEK10 billion (US$1.1 billion) to Ukraine in 2026.

Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa stated that Sweden needed to make difficult priority decisions to increase support to Ukraine, which faced pressure at negotiations and on the front lines. In June 2025, Sweden's government allocated nearly SEK1.7 billion (US$187 million) from the development assistance budget to support Ukraine and crucial humanitarian operations globally.

The Swedish government emphasized that assistance would be phased out in a responsible and orderly manner while establishing a transformed partnership focused on trade and foreign policy interests, with humanitarian assistance being unimpacted by the phase out.

As part of the phase-out, Sweden's embassies in Bolivia, Liberia, and Zimbabwe will be closed. Diplomatic relations with these countries will be continued through concurrent accreditation from embassies in neighboring regions.

Sweden announced a SEK1.1 billion (US$122 million) civilian support package to Ukraine on December 2, 2025, to meet reconstruction needs and strengthen resilience ahead of winter, with funding allocated to energy supply, infrastructure repairs, reforms, and healthcare.

Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa and Minister for Energy and Enterprise Ebba Busch jointly announced the package, stating that Russia has intensified attacks on civilian infrastructure as temperatures drop leaving millions of Ukrainians without access to electricity, heat, and water ahead of the worst winter since 2022.

The package allocated SEK700 million (US$77 million) to the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation for green reconstruction, SEK225 million (US$25 million) to the Energy Community Ukraine Energy Support Fund for power generation and critical infrastructure repairs, and SEK115 million (US$13 million) to the World Bank's Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund for energy and housing infrastructure. Sweden also allocated SEK50 million (US$6 million) to the EBRD to strengthen Ukraine's capacity for EU membership reforms and SEK22 million (US$2 million) for life-saving efforts against HIV and tuberculosis.

On Decembr 2, 2025, donors pledged US$1.2 billion at the annual UNHCR Pledging Conference in Geneva for 2026 operations, slightly above the 2025 pledge and covering nearly 18% of UNHCR's projected funding needs.

UNHCR's National Partners committed an additional US$350 million from private sector fundraising, bringing total pledges to US$1.5 billion. Several governments confirmed multi-year contributions extending into 2027 and beyond to strengthen UNHCR's long-term planning.

UNHCR Comissioner Filippo Grandi stated that early and flexible funding provided a lifeline to respond quickly to new emergencies and deliver solutions in neglected crises. Top government contributors included Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and Norway, with substantially increased contributions from Ireland, Luxembourg, and Iceland. The European Union confirmed significant funding already committed for 2026, while Austria and Spain joined the group of governments pledging support to UNHCR.

Unearmarked funding pledged dropped to 17% of total pledges, nearly half of 2023 levels, while earmarked funding for specific countries and activities increased. Norway, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and Ireland pledged the largest amounts of unearmarked funding.

A year-long campaign led by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has secured EUR15.5 billion (US$18.0 billion) to mobilize investments in renewable energy across Africa, along with additional commitments in clean energy generation and household electricity access, announced on November 21, 2025.

The EU led the pledging effort with more than EUR15.1 billion (US$17.5 billion), including contributions from multiple EU member states including Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Austria, and Ireland, as well as significant bilateral contributions by European financial institutions and development finance institutions, and estimated mobilized private investment. Alongside the campaign, the African Development Bank has pledged to allocate at least 20% of their 17th replenishment to renewable energy.

The campaign, organized in collaboration with Global Citizen and with policy support from the IEA, aimed to drive public and private investment in supporting Africa's clean energy transition, expand electricity access, and promote sustainable economic growth and decarbonized industrialization. The effort represented a step toward accelerating the global transition from fossil fuels to clean and sustainable energy.

Von der Leyen stated that the investment would turbocharge Africa's clean-energy transition, providing millions more people with electricity access and creating opportunities for thriving markets, new jobs, and reliable clean energy.