Earlier this month, USAID released a long-awaited progress update on local funding.
The update has been welcomed by development professionals for its transparency and openness. But some also wonder whether the agency is going far enough to transfer power to communities.
USAID revealed that in the fiscal year to September 2022, it gave $1.6 billion of direct funding to local entities or around 10.2% of eligible funding. This was a significant increase, and the highest level of direct local funding in at least a decade, but still far less than the target of 25%.