Allocating the Netherlands' official development assistance

After a 30-year record of exceeding the UN target of allocating 0.7% of gross national income as official development assistance (ODA), the Netherlands’ ODA began to fluctuate in 2013, and the overall trend is now downwards. The composition of the ODA budget has changed – the costs of hosting refugees in the Netherlands have markedly reduced the volume and quality of resources available for overseas programmes. There has been no recommitment by the Dutch government to the UN target and the government has no plan in place to restore ODA levels.