By Semafor Africa
Photos: Wikimedia Commons
The Trump administration plans to slash $555 million in funding for the African Development Bank’s main development fund as part of sweeping cuts to foreign aid.
Under a proposal submitted to the US Congress on Friday, Washington would end all contributions to the fund for the continent’s low-income countries next year as the White House said it was “not currently aligned” to its priorities.
The move creates a hole in the AfDB’s own plans and will likely force a reset in the way the bank’s key fund operates. Its current $8.9 billion three-year funding cycle ends this year. Last October, African countries had been pushing for a $25 billion replenishment. The US has backed the fund since 1976 and is the AfDB’s second-largest shareholder. Other leading donors have also been cutting back on their contributions, but none of the reductions have been anywhere near as drastic as those put forward by the US. The changes will be a challenge for the incoming AfDB president after leadership elections later this month.
— Yinka
