For the third straight year, the U.S. Agency for International Development increased its grant spending, with the amount awarded jumping from $9.79 billion in 2014 to $10.75 billion in 2015. This 9 percent growth coincides with a billion-dollar increase in USAID contract spending over the same period. As expected, USAID grant spending remains significantly higher than its contract spending.
Multilateral organizations such as the World Bank and the World Food Programme continue to receive major portions of USAID grant financing. In 2015, both organizations received more than a billion dollars in grants, far exceeding other grantees. Combined, the two organizations account for 22.64 percent of last year’s total obligated grant funding.
Grants for other organizations under the United Nations umbrella reached a total of $954 million, with UNICEF ($410 million), the World Health Organization ($159 million) and the Food and Agriculture Organization ($136 million) receiving significantly larger sums than other U.N. affiliates. Other notable multilateral grantees include the International Organization for Migration ($210 million) and the Gavi Alliance ($200 million).
About the author
Ezekiel Carlo Orlina
Ezekiel is a Senior Development Analyst and Team Leader at Devex. His primary role is monitoring and reporting on project opportunities and trends of leading multilateral and bilateral donor agencies. A graduate of Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Political Science, Ezekiel has extensive global development research experience having also worked at the World Youth Alliance, Asia and the Pacific (WYAAP).
