The Swedish government has allocated 50 million kronor from its humanitarian aid to Gaza to address children's urgent needs ahead of winter. The funds will go through Unicef for family protection, including tents and warm clothes, as well as provisional education facilities. Aid Minister Benjamin Dousa emphasizes the focus on children and youth in the cold weather.
The Swedish government decided in December last year to earmark 800 million kronor for humanitarian efforts in Gaza in 2025. Of these, 750 million have already been distributed, and the remaining 50 million are now allocated specifically for children's urgent needs ahead of winter, according to a government statement.
Aid and Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa (M) announced the decision, noting that the support will go through Unicef, the UN children's fund. "There will be a particular focus in this package on children and youth. We know that Gaza currently has major problems with the coming cold. It has also rained a lot. Unicef assesses that there are significant risks for respiratory diseases and other illnesses," Dousa tells Aftonbladet.
The funds will support life-saving measures such as tents, camp beds, food, and clean water, with a special emphasis on children. Parts of the aid will also go toward provisional facilities for education and leisure activities, as 97 percent of Gaza's schools are destroyed or seriously damaged. Many children have had no education for several years.
Dousa assures that Unicef has effective control mechanisms to ensure the aid reaches its destination. The government ended cooperation with UNRWA due to delivery issues and long-standing criticism of the organization's neutrality, including links to Hamas and antisemitic content in textbooks. Unicef, however, can deliver support effectively.
With this, Sweden becomes Europe's largest donor of humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). Dousa expresses irritation that other promises of help have not been fulfilled: "There were many who wanted to give a lot of money in the spring. They promised one million after another. But it was mostly big words and not much money." Sweden has taken its responsibility and more to help the civilian population.
