How USAID spent a record $30.2B on assistance funding in 2022

The U.S. Agency for International Development spent more than $30 billion on assistance funding — which includes grants and cooperative agreements — in the 2022 fiscal year, according to a report released last month. The figures represent a new record for assistance spending, and a 73% increase over the previous fiscal year. The 2022 Progress Report from the agency’s Office of Acquisition and Assistance, or OAA, which is responsible for around 85% of all USAID spending, shows a change in how the agency spends its money, with a much greater focus on grants. The increase is due “in large part to USAID’s response in Ukraine and other humanitarian efforts, along with our continued commitment to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,” OAA Director Mark Walther wrote in his introduction to the report. Spending on assistance in fiscal year 2021 was $17.5 billion — itself a record amount of money compared to any previous year. Meanwhile, acquisition, or contract spending, increased by only 7% to $6 billion. Interagency agreements — where USAID funds another U.S. government department — fell off considerably, from $3.8 billion to $226 million. In total, OAA spending rose $9.5 billion in the year, to $36.4 billion. The year also saw a greater focus on spending from USAID’s central offices in Washington, D.C., which obligated $29.5 billion, compared to just $6.9 billion in missions based in the countries where USAID operates. The U.S. has committed €3.6 billion ($3.9 billion) in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and has provided a further €24.6 billion of financial support, according to figures from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks all funding to Ukraine. Much of this support has been channeled through USAID. In his introduction, Walther also focused on staffing shortages at USAID — previously described by agency leaders as a crisis. USAID has hired 182 of 195 open contracting officer positions, he said.