For many, 2025 will be marked as the year the aid sector was transformed. Within days of U.S. President Donald Trump returning to the White House, he set his sights on the world’s largest bilateral donor, the U.S. Agency for International Development — and in the weeks that followed, the world watched as USAID was dismantled.
But even before the agency’s onslaught, official global development assistance was already in a bind. Last year, global aid flows fell for the first time in five years, according to newly released data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
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Also in this edition: More foreign aid cuts in the United States, the World Bank’s $38.9 billion pipeline, and a deep dive into U.K. foreign assistance.
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Global aid, ghosted
The world’s largest donors provided 7.1% less aid in 2024 than they did one year prior, according to the latest provisional OECD figures — halting five years of growth in foreign assistance spending. The reason? Reduced funding for Ukraine, a drop in refugee-related costs within donor countries, and less humanitarian spending overall.
“The pendulum now seems to swing more toward focusing on the immediate future and the immediate neighborhood,” says Carsten Staur, the chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee. “I would call on DAC members to sincerely reconsider and to reverse this trend.”
Aid to Africa and least developed countries, or LDCs, also dipped slightly, my colleague Jesse Chase-Lubitz finds, while South Korea, Portugal, and Belgium made increased contributions. Still, the overall downturn is prompting calls for a major rethink ahead of the 2025 International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, Spain.
“The global aid landscape was already undergoing a fundamental shift in 2024, ahead of the destabilizing U.S. aid cuts — with fewer resources available for long-term development, and more pressure on multilateral banks and private capital to fill the gap,” Jesse writes.
Read: In 2024, global aid fell for the first time in five years
Related: Amid the cuts, why the OECD development chief is optimistic about aid (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.
Belgian development agency Enabel allocated €250,000 ($286,000) to strengthen community engagement and sustainably improve access in rural municipalities in Burkina Faso.
The U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office announced £120 million ($159.8 million) in funding to provide lifesaving aid and emergency support to survivors of sexual violence in Sudan.
The Global Environment Facility put out a call for proposals to address the use of harmful chemicals in value chains through the adoption of circular business models in Vietnam.
The International Monetary Fund released $129 million to address the urgent needs resulting from floods in Mali.
The United Nations granted $16,500 to strengthen the capacities of women leaders, with a view to enhancing their effective participation in political, electoral, and democratic processes in Madagascar.
The World Bank approved a $100 million project to improve access to resilient infrastructure and enhance the role of tourism in Armenia’s economy.
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Sliced and diced
Last week, the Trump administration’s latest plans to cut foreign assistance made the rounds across Washington, D.C. — again. In a memo outlining recommendations from the White House budget office, State Department officials detailed how the plan would slash foreign assistance funding alone by $21.5 billion.
That’s a decrease of 56% from this year, with humanitarian assistance, global health funding, and support for United Nations agencies being some of the hardest hit. Food for Peace, the United States’ flagship hunger program, would be cut entirely; support for the National Endowment for Democracy, which promotes democracy across the world, would see the same.
In its place, the White House’s budget office recommended providing $2.1 billion for a brand-new “America First Opportunities Fund,” a pot of money that would provide “targeted economic and development assistance” for programs aligned with the Trump administration’s priorities. That includes, among other things, promoting the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, an agreement that allows U.S. vessels to fish in the economic zones of other countries.
At this point, it’s not clear whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio has signed off on this plan or made adjustments to it, with the department’s spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, repeatedly telling reporters that details of the cuts wouldn’t be made available until Trump submits his presidential budget request later this spring.
“These are not known or finalized, or planned,” said Bruce, speaking at a press conference last week. “Only President Trump has that information, and we’re going to see it soon, I’m sure.”
Read: Trump administration plans to cut State Department funding by half
What’s in the bank?
With so many aid crunches, many are looking to the World Bank’s $38.9 billion pipeline for relief. As the bank’s Spring Meetings begin this week, my colleague Alecsondra Kieren Si breaks down the details, finding that the World Bank has added 210 more projects to its pipeline since last August.
According to our calculations, 119 of these projects are in the concept review stage, while 18 have begun appraisal. Forty-four are in negotiations and 24 are nearing approval.
Read: What’s inside the World Bank’s $38.9 billion pipeline? (Pro)
ICYMI: Who’s winning the World Bank’s consulting contracts? (Pro)
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Will there be a remittance spike?
There might be another way to make up for lost funds: Remittances. For decades, the transfer of funds from someone’s new country to their home country has far outstripped official development assistance. And some predict that while the aid world crumbles, remittances might be the one thing left.
“You would expect this of course to happen in countries that have a lot of reliance on USAID funding and also like big diasporas,” says Dany Bahar, the director of the migration program at the Center for Global Development. “In that sense, I think remittances could play a role in allowing these communities to have kind of a soft landing.”
India received a record $129 billion in remittances last year — the highest of any country in 2024, according to World Bank data. Mexico followed with $68 billion, then China ($48 billion), the Philippines ($40 billion), and Pakistan ($33 billion). Some are exploring ways to boost the impact of those remittances as aid dollars fall, with my colleague Ayenat Mersie finding examples across the world.
In Mexico, hometown associations are pooling remittances to fund infrastructure and community services. In Rome, the International Fund for Agricultural Development is taking its own approach: partnering with organizations to reduce the regulatory and logistical barriers that often bar low-income recipients from accessing remittance cash.
“That shift requires rethinking the role of the diaspora, not just as givers but as partners in long-term development,” Ayenat writes.
Read: Remittances far outstrip foreign aid. But can they replace it?
Background: $640B a year for development hiding in plain sight
What’s next for UK aid?
Earlier this year, the United Kingdom announced it was slashing its aid budget from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3%. The news was a shock to a system already under duress and sparked criticism from those across the aid sector. Some described the cuts as “sudden and damaging,” others as “reckless and cruel.” As the dust around the announcement settled, questions began to abound.
You asked, and we answered — and here is what we learned.
Will there be cuts in 2026? Yes, by £500 million in 2025-26, £4.8 billion in 2026-27, and £6.5 billion in 2027-28. What will be saved? Most likely funding for Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza, climate change, and global health. Has the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office completed its aid spending analysis? Yes, a review has apparently been concluded, and a series of recommendations have been sent to U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
We have more details on those questions and more in the story below.
Read: 8 questions we still have about the future of UK aid (Pro)
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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.
