The United States plans to cut $555 million in funding for the African Development Bank’s main aid fund as part of a wider move to reduce foreign aid spending.
A recent proposal sent to the US Congress outlines plans to stop contributions to the African Development Fund, which supports low-income African countries, by 2026. The White House said the fund no longer fits with its current priorities.
This decision is expected to create a funding gap for the African Development Bank (AfDB), forcing it to rethink how its key development fund is run.
The current $8.9 billion, three-year funding round ends later this year. Back in October 2024, African nations had been pushing for a much larger $25 billion renewal.
The US has been supporting the African Development Fund since 1976 and is the second-biggest donor. Other countries have also reduced their contributions recently, but none have gone as far as the US in cutting back.
Under the latest budget plans, the fund, which helps some of the poorest and most unstable African countries, will take a major hit.
At the same time, the US-African Development Foundation, based in Washington and often criticised by Republicans, is being shut down.
Funding for UN and other peacekeeping operations, worth $1.6 billion, is also being cut, with the US calling it “wasteful”.
On the flip side, the budget does include $3.2 billion over three years for the World Bank’s International Development Association.
The US has said other countries and institutions should now do more to share the load. While that figure is lower than President Biden’s previous $4 billion proposal, some see it as a partial win under the current circumstances.
More: newZWire
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