Afghanistan has largely been pushed out of the news by Ukraine. But our latest analyses find there is likely to be a shortfall in aid to the country this year.
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Uphill battle at the summit
It was back in the 1980s that Afghanistan was first called the forgotten war. Now, in the wake of the crisis in Ukraine, it appears that the country is in danger of being forgotten yet again.
Last year, donations for Afghanistan exceeded what the U.N. said was needed, with contributions of around $2.2 billion. But this year, with the humanitarian crisis only deepening, it seems to be a different story. Our analysis of the data finds that although we’re more than a quarter of the way through the year, the U.N. has received only 14% of the $4.44 billion it has asked for.
And at a recent summit to raise humanitarian funds for Afghanistan, donors pledged $2 billion less than the U.N. says is needed for emergency humanitarian work in the country.
Whether this is fatigue, a lack of attention caused by the world’s focus on Ukraine, or testament to the sheer scale of the problem, it seems likely that Afghanistan will not get the funding it needs.
READ: The state of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan (Pro)
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Featured opportunity: $200M from JICA to tackle COVID-19 in Africa
The Japan International Cooperation Agency will loan up to $200 million via the African
Export-Import Bank, or Afreximbank, to support African countries in the fight against COVID-19.
Afreximbank is a multilateral financial development institution with 51 member states. It will use the money to support local production of vaccines and medical products, and thus reduce the continent’s dependence on international medical supply chains.
Funding activity
ADB. $100M to support smallholder farmer livelihoods in Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
EU. $108M (€100M) to face rising food prices in Egypt.
MCC. $360M to drive sustainable and inclusive economic growth in Kenya and Lesotho.
USAID. $311M to provide emergency assistance for people affected by the major food crisis in the Sahel and West Africa.
WB. $1.8B to support economic transformation in the Dominican Republic.
The French perception
The first round of the French presidential elections took place yesterday, and incumbent Emmanuel Macron will face off against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, just as he did at the last presidential runoff in 2017. Macron has presided over a rapid rise in aid spending, but his challenger favors a different approach. Last week, before the polls opened, one of our expert contributors took a look at what the final results might mean for development.
READ: What the French presidential election could mean for development aid (Pro)
DT Grow-bal
There was big news last week for development firm DT Global, which has more than tripled in size following two acquisitions. Headcount at the firm has gone from somewhere over 700 to well over 2,000 after it bought Australian firm Cardno’s development arm and the U.K.-based IMC Worldwide.
READ: DT Global to triple in size after two acquisitions (Pro)
’Ello ILO
We’ve brought you all the latest high profile job moves in the development world once again this month. Top of the list is the news that the International Labour Organization has elected Gilbert Houngbo, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, as its next director-general.
Who’s who in #globaldev: March 2022 executive appointments
Going local
USAID has been striving for years to prioritize locally led development, and successive administrations have made attempts to improve how much cash flows to organizations are embedded in the communities they serve. But it has needed a wholesale change in both rules and culture, and it’s been difficult to make happen.
Under the current administrator, Samantha Power, the agency has geared up for another tilt at the problem.
Last week, my colleague Michael Igoe was joined by a group of supporters of localization for a roundtable event to scrutinize whether this time, the change could really stick.
WATCH: Can USAID make localization work this time?
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About the author
David Ainsworth@daveainsworth4
David Ainsworth is business editor at Devex, where he writes about finance and funding issues for development institutions. He was previously a senior writer and editor for magazines specializing in nonprofits in the U.K. and worked as a policy and communications specialist in the nonprofit sector for a number of years. His team specializes in understanding reports and data and what it teaches us about how development functions.
