USAID localization goals could be hard to reach, Power says

While USAID has been working toward its goal of funneling 25% of its funding to local organizations, it is a difficult challenge, the agency's chief told the U.S. Congress. Thus far its efforts have boosted local funding from about 7% to 10.5%.

By Adva Saldinger // 27 April 2023

It will be hard for the U.S. Agency for International Development to meet its localization targets, the aid agency’s chief told Congress on Wednesday.

USAID Administrator Samantha Power has prioritized more U.S. aid spending to local organizations and wants 25% of the agency’s funding to go to those entities by 2025.

“Let me just acknowledge the degree of difficulty in meeting that goal,” she told lawmakers at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

About the author

Adva Saldinger @AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.