Europe's 2026 budgets show that the moral and human cost of defense spending is becoming increasingly heavy. While investment in weapons is increasing, the most fragile regions of the world are being left to their fate.
MUHAMMED KAYA
ANF
ANF
NEWS CENTER
Saturday, January 3, 2026
In the US, after Donald Trump dissolved USAID, which ran the federal government's foreign aid and development programs, European states took a similar turn. The 2026 budgets focused on Ukraine and defense spending; It has made serious cuts in health, hunger and poverty alleviation programs in Africa and the Middle East.
The Trump administration closed USAID in 2025, explicitly transferring humanitarian responsibility to other countries. After this step, priorities changed rapidly in European capitals. Britain cut its aid budget at the beginning of the year; Later in the year, France, Germany and Sweden increased their defense spending and cut humanitarian aid. The emerging picture shows that global poverty and hunger are now seen as a secondary issue.
SWEDEN: UKRAINE PRIORITY, FAREWELL TO AFRICA
In June 2025, the Swedish government transferred approximately 1.7 billion Swedish kronor (US$187 million) from its development assistance budget to Ukraine and global humanitarian operations. But this "reprioritization" has meant the dismantling of programs in Africa and Latin America.
On December 8, it was announced that development assistance to Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Liberia and Bolivia will be phased out in order to transfer at least 10 billion Swedish kronor (1.1 billion US dollars) to Ukraine in 2026. In line with this decision, the Swedish embassies in Bolivia, Liberia and Zimbabwe will be closed. Diplomatic relations will be carried out through neighboring countries.
GERMANY: MILITARY SPENDING INCREASES, GLOBAL AID SHRINKS
On November 28, 2025, the German Parliament approved a federal budget of 524.5 billion euros for 2026. The share allocated to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) remained at 10.05 billion euros; This figure is 251 million euros lower than in 2025.
While the Foreign Office budget increased, the 23 million euro increase in humanitarian aid was not enough to compensate for the 1.3 billion euro cut made the previous year. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Germany has been steadily increasing its military spending since 2022. On the other hand, humanitarian aid to the Middle East, Africa and Latin America is declining.
Ralf Südhoff, director of the Berlin-based Humanitarian Aid Center, sums up Germany's policy shift: "Germany has begun a phased out of Latin America in 2025, reduced its activities in Asia, and now openly says it wants to focus on crises affecting Europe."
The projected humanitarian aid budget of 1.05 billion euros for 2026 is even less than half of the previous year.
UK: CUT GLOBAL HEALTH FOR DEFENSE
The UK is also among the countries that have pruned global aid funds to finance defense spending. On November 11, 2025, it announced that it would donate £850 million to the Global Fund. This figure is 15 percent lower than the commitment in 2022.
Sarah Champion, Chair of the International Development Committee, described this cut as "short-term and visionless": "A lower commitment further loses its real value in conditions of global inflation. However, every investment made in the Global Fund provides extraordinary returns both in the fight against global diseases and in domestic health security."
NORWAY: MORE TO UKRAINE, LESS TO AFRICA
Norway has increased its civilian aid to Ukraine by 2,5 billion crowns, a quarter of its total aid budget. However, the cost of this increase was deducted from the aid to Africa. The 355 million kroner cut in the African budget drew the reaction of non-governmental organizations.
FRANCE AND POLAND: ARMAMENT RECORD, HARD CUT IN AID
France has reduced humanitarian aid by 700 million euros in its 2026 budget. Humanitarian support, especially food aid, was cut by 60 percent. In the same budget, defense expenditures were increased by 6.7 billion euros.
In Poland, military expenditures increased rapidly after the Ukraine war. According to SIPRI data, the ratio of defense spending to GDP increased from 2.2 percent in 2022 to 4.2 percent in 2024. A new record was set in the 2026 budget with 46,9 billion euros allocated to defense. Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domański defended this increase, declaring security an "absolute priority."
THE VULNERABILITY OF HUMANITARIAN AID IS DEEPENING
First Trump's liquidation of USAID, and then Europe's turn to defense and Ukraine-focused budgets, once again revealed how fragile the state-centered humanitarian aid system is.
Inger Ashing, Managing Director of Save the Children International, emphasizes in her article published on the association's official website that sudden interruptions threaten vital programs: "In an environment of increasing conflict, displacement and hunger, these interruptions reduce the scale of life-saving programs."
Ilaria Manunza, Director of Save the Children Mozambique, said, "Every cut increases the risk of long-term setbacks, especially in the areas of education and child protection. If this trend continues, the gains of the last decade could be reversed."
Saturday, January 3, 2026
In the US, after Donald Trump dissolved USAID, which ran the federal government's foreign aid and development programs, European states took a similar turn. The 2026 budgets focused on Ukraine and defense spending; It has made serious cuts in health, hunger and poverty alleviation programs in Africa and the Middle East.
The Trump administration closed USAID in 2025, explicitly transferring humanitarian responsibility to other countries. After this step, priorities changed rapidly in European capitals. Britain cut its aid budget at the beginning of the year; Later in the year, France, Germany and Sweden increased their defense spending and cut humanitarian aid. The emerging picture shows that global poverty and hunger are now seen as a secondary issue.
SWEDEN: UKRAINE PRIORITY, FAREWELL TO AFRICA
In June 2025, the Swedish government transferred approximately 1.7 billion Swedish kronor (US$187 million) from its development assistance budget to Ukraine and global humanitarian operations. But this "reprioritization" has meant the dismantling of programs in Africa and Latin America.
On December 8, it was announced that development assistance to Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Liberia and Bolivia will be phased out in order to transfer at least 10 billion Swedish kronor (1.1 billion US dollars) to Ukraine in 2026. In line with this decision, the Swedish embassies in Bolivia, Liberia and Zimbabwe will be closed. Diplomatic relations will be carried out through neighboring countries.
GERMANY: MILITARY SPENDING INCREASES, GLOBAL AID SHRINKS
On November 28, 2025, the German Parliament approved a federal budget of 524.5 billion euros for 2026. The share allocated to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) remained at 10.05 billion euros; This figure is 251 million euros lower than in 2025.
While the Foreign Office budget increased, the 23 million euro increase in humanitarian aid was not enough to compensate for the 1.3 billion euro cut made the previous year. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Germany has been steadily increasing its military spending since 2022. On the other hand, humanitarian aid to the Middle East, Africa and Latin America is declining.
Ralf Südhoff, director of the Berlin-based Humanitarian Aid Center, sums up Germany's policy shift: "Germany has begun a phased out of Latin America in 2025, reduced its activities in Asia, and now openly says it wants to focus on crises affecting Europe."
The projected humanitarian aid budget of 1.05 billion euros for 2026 is even less than half of the previous year.
UK: CUT GLOBAL HEALTH FOR DEFENSE
The UK is also among the countries that have pruned global aid funds to finance defense spending. On November 11, 2025, it announced that it would donate £850 million to the Global Fund. This figure is 15 percent lower than the commitment in 2022.
Sarah Champion, Chair of the International Development Committee, described this cut as "short-term and visionless": "A lower commitment further loses its real value in conditions of global inflation. However, every investment made in the Global Fund provides extraordinary returns both in the fight against global diseases and in domestic health security."
NORWAY: MORE TO UKRAINE, LESS TO AFRICA
Norway has increased its civilian aid to Ukraine by 2,5 billion crowns, a quarter of its total aid budget. However, the cost of this increase was deducted from the aid to Africa. The 355 million kroner cut in the African budget drew the reaction of non-governmental organizations.
FRANCE AND POLAND: ARMAMENT RECORD, HARD CUT IN AID
France has reduced humanitarian aid by 700 million euros in its 2026 budget. Humanitarian support, especially food aid, was cut by 60 percent. In the same budget, defense expenditures were increased by 6.7 billion euros.
In Poland, military expenditures increased rapidly after the Ukraine war. According to SIPRI data, the ratio of defense spending to GDP increased from 2.2 percent in 2022 to 4.2 percent in 2024. A new record was set in the 2026 budget with 46,9 billion euros allocated to defense. Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domański defended this increase, declaring security an "absolute priority."
THE VULNERABILITY OF HUMANITARIAN AID IS DEEPENING
First Trump's liquidation of USAID, and then Europe's turn to defense and Ukraine-focused budgets, once again revealed how fragile the state-centered humanitarian aid system is.
Inger Ashing, Managing Director of Save the Children International, emphasizes in her article published on the association's official website that sudden interruptions threaten vital programs: "In an environment of increasing conflict, displacement and hunger, these interruptions reduce the scale of life-saving programs."
Ilaria Manunza, Director of Save the Children Mozambique, said, "Every cut increases the risk of long-term setbacks, especially in the areas of education and child protection. If this trend continues, the gains of the last decade could be reversed."
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