- Egypt and Ethiopia are the largest recipients of U.S. funding in Africa and 4th and 5th in the world, respectively.
- The U.S. funding supports various initiatives, including health programs, agriculture, governance, humanitarian response, and more.
- The data is according to the U.S. Foreign Assistance, Fiscal Year 2023.
The U.S. funding to Africa is strategic and varies depending on a number of factors, particularly those that serve its interests. The allocations are a mixture of humanitarian and military aid and development, with a significant portion directed towards health programs, economic growth, and peace and security initiatives.
Other critical initiatives that the U.S. funding supports are democracy, human rights, governance, environment, education, and social services. This amounts to billions of dollars pumped into various sectors annually.
The U.S. funding program is run through multiple agencies working either directly or via a particular agency charged with the implementation of its initiatives.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is the biggest funding agency. In the fiscal year 2023, USAID had a huge funding obligation amounting to USD 42.45 billion worldwide. Similarly, the agency disbursed USD 43.79 billion to more than 200 countries.
Other top foreign assistance managing agencies include the Department of State, the Department of Treasury, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Peace Corps, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Interior, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy, among others.
According to the U.S. Foreign Assistance, FY2023, Egypt received the largest funding obligation and 4th in the world at USD 1.5 billion. Similarly, Egypt received a total of USD 1.4 billion in total disbursement in the same period, channeled towards 200 activities.
The Department of State was the largest funder, disbursing a whopping USD 1.241 billion, followed by USAID at USD 203.3 million, the Department of Agriculture (USD 1.868), the Trade and Development Agency (USD 285.1K), the Department of Energy (USD 245K), and the African Development Foundation at USD 7.5K.
Ethiopia received the largest disbursement during the period, with funds amounting to USD 1.8 billion. The disbursement went into various initiatives, including humanitarian assistance at USD 1.352 billion and health at USD 257.8 million, among others.
Ethiopia is the second largest recipient of U.S. Foreign Assistance, with a funding obligation amounting to USD 1,457,374,911 according to the 2023 fiscal year report. Ethiopia is 5th in the world.
The U.S., under the current administration, halted the operations of USAID for 90 days—ending in late April. This, however, poses serious risks to several programs in Africa, including health, according to several government reports. Thousands of jobs have been lost, and many facilities have ceased operations.
