COVID-19 Global Pandemic and ODA Policy: A Comparative Study of the UK and Germany

This study examines the impact of COVID-19 on aid policy of donors. We aim to understand how COVID-19 global pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war followed by the economic stagnation worldwide have affected aid policy of major donor countries. This study first traces the changes in ODA of OECD DAC countries after the break out of COVID-19. Based on the understanding of the general pattern of aid policy after the COVID-19, we then compare and analyze the cases of the UK and Germany. Soon after the breakout of the COVID-19, the UK drastically decreased the amount of ODA and adopted the 'UK first policy' as the guiding principle of the UK ODA policy. On the other hand, the ODA volume of Germany has seen a significant increase during the period of the COVID-19 crisis and played a leading role in supporting international cooperation to meet COVID-19 crisis and protect global peace and order. This study highlights major factors that have affected such divergent aid policies of the UK and Germany.