More than five years after top donors pledged to make all aid transparent by 2015, data compiled in the Aid Transparency Index and released Wednesday by Publish What You Fund found that only 10 donors, responsible for only a quarter of all aid, are hitting the mark.
As the donor landscape grows more diverse, the link between transparency and aid impact grows more evident, now featuring prominently in the Sustainable Development Goals and global coalitions like the Open Government Partnership. Transparent aid flows have also been shown to increase accountability in recipient countries, allowing better financial planning and implementation.
The data focuses on the top 46 aid donors, and for the first time includes new players such as the United Arab Emirates, which joined China as the two worst performers in this year’s ranking.
About the author
Molly Andersmollyanders_dev
Molly Anders is a former U.K. correspondent for Devex. Based in London, she reports on development finance trends with a focus on British and European institutions. She is especially interested in evidence-based development and women’s economic empowerment, as well as innovative financing for the protection of migrants and refugees. Molly is a former Fulbright Scholar and studied Arabic in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.
