Outside of USAID, how much did other US agencies spend on development?

The future of American aid becomes grimmer as the days go by, with a recent court ruling further legitimizing the Trump administration’s ongoing purge of the U.S. Agency for International Development — once the world’s largest bilateral aid agency. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in early February that certain bureaus of USAID would be reorganized and absorbed by the Department of State, or DoS. What that means is still unclear, and the development sector remains paralyzed. Thousands were already laid off from several organizations that used to receive the bulk of their income from USAID. Aside from USAID, other U.S. government agencies also carry out foreign assistance, including DoS and the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS. But how much do these agencies spend on development? Which sectors and countries received the most aid? We looked into the data from the International Aid Transparency Initiative to get the answers. To make the comparison as accurate as possible, we converted all figures to 2018 U.S. dollar constant prices, which is the midpoint year of the dataset. What does the overall figure say? Based on the data from the IATI, the U.S. has nearly 6,500 active programs worth $91.7 billion. These are carried out by several departments, including USAID and DoS. Of this amount, $81.4 billion went to development, while the remaining $10.3 billion went to humanitarian aid. USAID accounted for 93.7% of the total disbursement for active projects, worth $86 billion. More than a third of this, worth $29.3 billion, went to multiple recipient countries from different regions. Among countries, the largest sum for active projects went to Ukraine, worth $22.2 billion. Since the Russian invasion, the U.S. has spent tens of billions in both military and humanitarian support. The other top recipient countries include Nigeria and Ethiopia, with $2.1 billion each; Afghanistan, with $1.6 billion; the Democratic Republic of Congo, with $1.5 billion; Uganda, with $1.4 billion; and Mozambique, with $1.2 billion. The control of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, was USAID’s priority sector, receiving $23.2 billion. Public sector policy and administrative management ranked next with $20.4 billion, followed by relief services with $7.4 billion, infectious disease control with $4.8 billion, and malaria control with $2.8 billion. The World Bank Group received the largest portion of aid among implementing organizations, worth $21.2 billion. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria followed, with $12.1 billion; another $4.5 billion went to the International Finance Corporation — which is also part of the World Bank Group — $3.7 billion to the World Food Programme, and $1.5 billion to Chemonics. Around $19.7 billion went to unspecified recipients. Excluding USAID, all the other USG agencies spent around $5.8 billion. Other US agencies — and how much aid they carry out HHS The Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, is the U.S. lead health agency, but it also implements several grants benefiting low- and middle-income countries. Final data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, shows that the HHS accounted for 12.6% of the total U.S. ODA disbursement in 2022. HSS is currently implementing $1.9 billion worth of activities, or 2.1% of the total. Nearly all of this went to STI control, with the remaining $9.9 million allocated for health policy and administrative management. Mozambique is the biggest recipient among countries, with $251.7 million. Then South Africa with $239.1 million, Kenya with $201.1 million, Zambia with $157.3 million, and Tanzania with $149 million. HHS partners with universities, research institutions, government agencies, and health organizations. The University of Maryland received the biggest sum of active programs worth $146.9 million, then Columbia University with $138.1 million, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation with $119.8 million, Health Systems Trust with $72.3 million, and the University of Washington with $71.4 million. DoS DoS is the second-largest source of U.S. aid, according to OECD, which estimates the agency’s disbursements to be around 21.1% of the donor country’s total ODA in 2022. IATI data shows that the department currently implements $1.7 billion in active projects globally, or about 1.9% of the U.S.’s total active development and humanitarian programs. Much of this went to other U.S. agencies, such as USAID, which received $1.4 billion. The bulk of funding, worth $1.6 billion, went to multicountry projects. Among countries, Somalia is the top recipient, with $30.3 million, followed by Costa Rica with $14.6 million, Morocco with $3.7 million, and Kosovo with $3.6 million. DoS also prioritized STI control, receiving $1.4 billion. Then, peacekeeping operations, with $141.4 million, legal and judicial development, with $124.7 million, and human rights, with $24.7 million. Millennium Challenge Corporation MCC is another leading agency carrying out U.S. foreign aid. It partners with the world’s lowest-income countries to end extreme poverty through economic growth. Based on IATI, MCC currently has active projects in 21 countries, worth $963.7 million. Cote d’Ivoire received the largest sum, worth $274.7 million, followed by Senegal, with $233.5 million, Mongolia, with $224.9 million, and Nepal, with $75.6 million. Power transmission and distribution topped the sectors with $179.4 million. Then, water supply, with $174.1 million, road transportation, with $100.6 million, and upper secondary education, with $55.2 million. Around $175.6 million went to activities with unspecified target sectors, while $159.5 million went to administrative costs. MCC partners directly with government agencies through large agreements called compacts, which is why no recipient organizations were provided. Department of Agriculture The Department of Agriculture, or USDA, is among the U.S.’s primary sources of food assistance. Of the $877.1 million the department currently implements, $539.3 million is for food assistance. Another chunk of its active activities went to school feeding programs, worth $326.4 million. Among countries, Guatemala received the largest portion, worth $96.9 million. Burkina Faso followed with $81.9 million, Cote d’Ivoire with $51.4 million, Senegal with $39.5 million, and Laos with $37.6 million. Catholic Relief Services is USDA’s lead implementer, with $187 million. TechnoServe ranked next with $132 million, WFP with $72.4 million, and Land O’Lakes Venture37 with $65.4 million. Department of Labor A portion of U.S. aid intended for labor-related causes comes from the Department of Labor. Based on IATI, the department implements $135.7 million for projects in the areas of labor rights and employment. About 40.8% of this, worth $55.4 million, went to the International Labour Organization — the United Nations’ lead agency for the promotion and protection of workers across the globe. Most of the department's funding, worth $73.6 million, went to multiple recipient countries, as well as regional projects, such as in Central America, which got $6.1 million, and South America, which received $3.2 million. All other agencies with less than $100 million in aid Six other USG agencies with less than $100 million in aid spending also submitted data to IATI. Their total disbursement for active projects amounted to $142.5 million. These agencies include: • Department of the Treasury, which has $78.4 million in active programs. • Trade and Development Agency, with $48.7 million in active programs. • Inter-American Foundation, an independent agency directly investing in the Latin America and Caribbean region, with $11 million in active programs. • Department of Transportation, with $4 million in active programs. • Environmental Protection Agency, with $259,230 in active programs. • Department of Commerce, with $138,319 in active programs. More than half of these agencies’ funding for active projects, worth $83.1 million, went to multiple recipient countries. Among the countries, Romania got the largest sum, worth $7.3 million. Then Poland, with $6.2 million, Nigeria, with $3.1 million, India, with $3.1 million, and Brazil, with $3 million. The amount that went to Poland, a high-income country, went mostly to a feasibility study funded by USTDA for nuclear power plants in the country. Sectorally, environmental policy and administrative management received the biggest chunk, worth $79.9 million. Nuclear energy ranked next, with $15 million, followed by information and communication technology, with $7.7 million, and agricultural development, with $5.2 million. Clean Technology Fund is the top recipient organization, with $78.4 million, followed by NuScale Power, with $8.1 million, and Westinghouse Electric Company, with $6.2 million. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850 sources in addition to our analysis and news content.