Polish aid

Depending on how assistance is implemented, we can distinguish between bilateral and multilateral assistance. Bilateral assistance is directly addressed to a partner country’s institutions, organisations, and persons. Multilateral assistance is delivered through specialised international organisations and institutions.

In practice, bilateral assistance is the implementation of development projects financed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ budget and those of other ministries. Support to partner countries is provided by non-governmental organisations, government administration, local authorities, higher education institutions, and other social partners. Polish diplomatic missions and Solidarity Fund PL are also involved in assistance activities. 

As part of its multilateral assistance, Poland annually supports development and humanitarian efforts of selected organisations, through regular and voluntary contributions. It mainly co-finances EU, UN, and OECD projects aimed at reducing poverty, ensuring political transition, promoting human rights and democracy, combating communicable diseases, and improving health care and access to education. Such projects also distribute humanitarian aid to victims of natural disasters and conflicts in developing countries.

In 2019, multilateral assistance accounted for 71% of Poland’s total development cooperation funding. The largest portion of this assistance was made up by Poland’s contribution to the EU general budget, part of which goes to the EU’s aid operations. The MFA’s contribution to the European Development Fund (EDF) accounted for the second largest share.