ODA Spending


How much ODA does Norway allocate to global health?



How is Norwegian global health ODA changing?


Norway’s health ODA decreased by 41% in 2022. The larger contributions to health in 2020 and 2021 were largely driven by the additional funding dedicated to COVID-19 response.



How does Norway allocate global health ODA?


Bilateral Spending


In 2022, Norway’s bilateral ODA to health amounted to US$261 million according to OECD data. However, 35% of this funding was channeled as earmarked funding through multilaterals.



Multilateral Spending and Commitments


In line with its overall ODA policy, much of Norway’s funding for health is distributed through the multilateral system. In 2022, Norway channeled 49% of total health ODA as core contributions to multilaterals, surpassing the DAC average of 34%. Norway’s commitment to multilateral funding for global health is outlined in the 2019 white paper, Norway’s Role and Interests in Multilateral Cooperation.



Funding & Policy Outlook


What is the current government's outlook on global health ODA?


Champion for global health: Over the past ten years, Norway has been an influential actor in global health cooperation. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and the current government have repeatedly voiced their ambition to contribute to strengthening international health cooperation as well as global health preparedness so that the world can prevent, detect, and respond quickly to new or persistent threats of infection and the development of resistance.


Global health is embedded in Norwegian development policy: Global health is one of five development policy priorities outlined in the MFA’s 2016 white paper, Common responsibility for a common future – the Sustainable Development Goals and Norwegian Development Policy.


Emphasis on UHC: At the high-level week of the 78th UNGA in 2023, Norway emphasized UHC as a cornerstone of robust health systems. Norwegian Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol stated the need to accelerate work on UHC to achieve SDG #3 during the meeting. Norwegian Minister of International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim emphasized the need to harmonize health investments following the COVID-19 pandemic. She noted that robust UHC forms the foundation of good PPR.


Norway is committed to tackling non-communicable diseases: In early 2020, the Norwegian government published its strategy specifically on non-communicable diseases, Combating Non-Communicable Diseases in the Context of Norwegian Development Policy (2020-2024). The document highlights three priorities:

  • Preventing and reducing risk;
  • Strengthening health systems, with a focus on primary healthcare; and
  • Supporting global public goods.

Global health and humanitarian assistance: Additionally, health is a key component of Norway’s humanitarian efforts. In its 2018 humanitarian strategy, the government committed to supporting life-saving and basic health services in connection with Norway’s humanitarian efforts. This commitment aimed to increase support for SRHR in crises, as well as to promote closer coordination between humanitarian and development efforts in health.


Key Bodies



Global health R&D is also important to addressing many of the global health challenges that disproportionately affect the world’s most disadvantaged people. For more information on how donor countries are supporting global health R&D across three main areas — 1) EIDs; 2) PRNDs; and 3) SRH — read the excellent G-Finder reports and explore the interactive data portal created by Policy Cures Research. Not all funding mentioned in these analyses qualifies as ODA.


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