SWEDISH AID IN THE TIME OF THE PANDEMIC

Looking back to the beginning of 2020, covid-19 and the direct and indirect consequences of the virus were largely unknown. Since then, in addition to the direct health consequences of the pandemic, we have seen that the pandemic has caused side effects such as increased poverty, children who lack access to education, and an increase in gender-based violence. The development sector has played a crucial role in mitigating these consequences, at the same time as donors as well as implementors have had to adapt to new ways of working and collaborating.  In this report, Carsten Schwensen, Jonas Lövkrona and Louise Scheibel Smed have evaluated how Swedish development cooperation and humanitarian assistance have responded and adapted to the covid-19 pandemic, with an aim to identify lessons learnt for future crises. The authors find that overall strategic, governance and financial adjustments have been limited in comparison to the magnitude of the crisis. However, they do not regard this as a shortcoming as reprogramming and adjustments of aid flows have instead taken place within existing strategies and systems, and decision-making processes have been flexible enough to accommodate these changes. This approach to managing the crisis has been facilitated by Sweden’s highly decentralised system for decision making in development cooperation and humanitarian assistance. In preparation for the next crisis, the authors identify areas that can be strengthened. These include improved preparedness within the areas of communication, coordination and human resource management. We hope that the findings from this report can contribute to reflection and discussions on how to better prepare for coming crises. The study has been conducted with support from a reference group chaired by Joakim Molander, a member of the Expert Group for Aid Studies. The authors are solely responsible for the report and its conclusions.