2024 was a record year for USAID’s localization efforts: The agency steered 11.2% of its eligible funding toward local organizations, up from 9.6% one year prior.
In cash terms, spending increased to $1.9 billion, from $1.5 billion in 2023, according to a report released by USAID this week.
USAID is still falling short of its ambitious target to get 25% of eligible funding to local organizations by 2025. It’s also some way away from another target — that by 2030, half the agency’s programs would be locally led. USAID has adjusted and readjusted the way it measures this target, but this year, it found that 35% of its programs were led by the communities they serve.