Sharp decline in Swedish and global funding for SRHR, new RFSU report reveals

Read RFSU’s analysis and recommendations for the next government in our new report: Rights under pressure - The sharp decline in Swedish and global funding for SRHR (pdf).

“The next government must immediately increase Sweden’s SRHR aid,” says Ingela Holmertz, secretary general at RFSU, the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education.

According to the latest figures from the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Swedish official development assistance (ODA) for SRHR continues to decline, both in absolute terms and as a share of total aid. In 2025, SRHR funding was SEK 1.2 billion lower than in 2021 – a reduction of 35 percent.

“Continuously cutting SRHR aid is unreasonable and must stop. The need for funding for contraception, maternity care and HIV prevention is greater than it has been in a very long time. Swedish governments have long aspired to champion the right of everyone to their own body and sexuality on the global stage, and in many ways Sweden has continued to play this part. But the opportunity to be a strong diplomatic voice must go hand in hand with stable SRHR funding. We want to see an immediate end to these cuts,” says Ingela Holmertz.

RFSU’s report shows that Sweden’s declining SRHR ODA is not happening in a vacuum. Between 2024 and 2026, global SRHR funding is expected to fall by half, largely due to the Trump administration’s actions.

“RFSU is in close contact with activists and organisations around the world who are fighting for comprehensive sexuality education, LGBTQI rights and the right to abortion. For them, the impact of the global collapse in SRHR funding is tangible. HIV clinics are closing, funding for LGBTQI organisations is being withdrawn, and there are contraception shortages,” says Ingela Holmertz.

RFSU’s report also highlights that the decrease in SRHR funding is taking place against a backdrop of well-financed resistance. The conservative, often fundamentalist Christian, right-wing American organisations working systematically against SRHR have access to substantial resources.

“These wealthy organisations fund numerous activities across the African continent aimed, for example, at rolling back the rights of LGBTQI rights and abolishing the right to abortion. When progressive countries cut their SRHR ODA, they leave others vulnerable to these forces.”

Read RFSU’s analysis and recommendations for the next government in our new report: Rights under pressure - The sharp decline in Swedish and global funding for SRHR (pdf).