Last year, USAID obligated a lot less cash via acquisitions and assistance. However, its largest INGO partners continued to grow their share. We look at who got the cash.
Also in this edition: Trump’s influence at the United Nations, continued resistance in the United Kingdom, and the outcomes of a global health replenishment traffic jam.
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A new(ish) sheriff in town
After several years of growth, USAID spent quite a lot less last year via its traditional funding mechanisms. But its largest INGO partners continued to grow their share of the pie.
This year, after several years in which FHI 360 was consistently the number one grantee, Catholic Relief Services has topped the list of the organizations receiving the most money.
It’s not exactly a radical departure from the status quo, though. CRS was in second place last year, and FHI 360 is still in second place this year.
And indeed the whole top 10 is the same as last year, just with a few of the deck chairs shifted.
Read: Who were USAID’s top grantees in 2024? (Pro)
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Funding activity
We publish tenders, grants, and other funding announcements on our Funding Platform. Here are some of the ones that have been viewed the most in the past 10 days.
• The World Bank approved a $30 million grant to improve living conditions for refugees and host communities in Zambia, focusing on income-generating activities, particularly in agriculture, and strengthening community infrastructure.
• The Republic of Korea contributed $5 million in funding to provide food assistance to vulnerable families, support nutrition for mothers and children, and enhance livelihoods in rural communities in Afghanistan.
• The United Nations is inviting proposals to support the implementation of the emergency component of the Somali Crisis Recovery Project (SCRP) — Fisheries Program in Somalia.
• The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, or FCDO, has called for proposals to provide technical assistance and capacity building for the clean energy transition sector in Kenya.
• USAID has released a request for information to obtain industry comment for the design of a new basic education activity in the Kasai Region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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UNcertainty in New York
Two weeks from today, Donald Trump will resume the most powerful seat in Washington: the presidency of the United States. Many at the United Nations are gearing up for the shockwaves — but what’s to come is still, at this stage, up for debate.
“Anyone who tells you that they know what will happen at the UN in 2025 is a fool or a liar,” Richard Gowan, a U.N. expert at the International Crisis Group, told my colleague Colum Lynch. “It is a safe bet to say that Trump will shake up multilateral diplomacy, but the resulting fall-out is hard to predict confidently.”
Still, experts say it’s safe to expect cuts — and across the United Nations, agencies are planning for the fallout. Late last year, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton urged Trump’s pick for his old position, Elise Stefanik, to use “America’s money as an existential threat” to “rock the U.N. system” in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
“Under any circumstances, the UN will celebrate its eightieth birthday in a pretty gloomy fashion,” Gowan said. “Like a lot of octogenarians, the UN is feeling pretty creaky. With budget cuts on the horizon, it may not even be able to afford a cake.”
Read: The year of UNcertainty
Not backing down
We learned in October that the United Kingdom will not return to spending 0.7% of gross national income on international aid before 2030 when its Labour government adopted uber-tough economic tests for reversing the 2020 cut to 0.5% that will not be met this decade.
Now, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has explained why she is sticking to the Conservatives’ unachievable benchmarks — that taxes must be covering day-to-day spending and debt falling — and that reason is extraordinary.
According to a letter sent by Reeves to U.K. members of Parliament, those tests must stay because they “have the endorsement of Parliament,” which ignores the entire point of holding elections: That new governments change things.
Furthermore, Labour voted against the tests when they rushed through in July 2021, when Reeves herself was among the fiercest critics of a move that would “diminish Britain” and “reduce our power and influence for good in the world.”
The future chancellor thundered: “These are not tests to go back to 0.7% of GNI spent on overseas aid; they are tests to stop that ever happening under a Conservative Government again.” And, indeed, to stop it under a Labour government.
ICYMI: UK aid on track to stay at 0.5% for rest of the decade
Who won the replenishment traffic jam?
Late last year, several global health funds found themselves asking for money at the same time — and early this year, several more are doing the same.
My colleague Andrew Green has the first takeaways: The World Health Organization, for example, raised $3.8 billion — just about half of what it had hoped for — while the World Bank’s fund for low-income countries, the International Development Association, raised a whopping $23.7 billion against its $27 billion target.
Replenishments are still ongoing for both the Pandemic Fund and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which are seeking $2 billion and $9 billion, respectively.
Read: How 2024’s big global health replenishments shook out
What’s in store for 2025?
To kick off the new year, Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar will sit down with our Pro members for an exclusive “ask me anything” session.
On Jan. 8, Raj will discuss key trends to watch in global development throughout the year — and take questions from the audience about emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities in 2025. We hope to see you there!
Register today: The 2025 development forecast: an AMA with Raj Kumar
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About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
