What USAID funding of African Countries by Sector looks like since 2001

Before the termination of foreign aid by the Trump administration, USAID was one of the principal agencies of the United States government tasked with offering assistance and aid to foreign countries.  

Between 2001 and 2024, USAID’s foreign aid to African countries was $131.6 billion. This funding was directed towards humanitarian assistance, economic development, basic education, HIV/AIDS, malaria, good governance, reproductive health and more. 

Ethiopia, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were the largest recipients of USAID funding. Between 2001 and 2024, Ethiopia had received a total of $16.69 billion. Kenya was the second largest beneficiary, receiving a total of $9.75 billion, while DRC was third, receiving a total of $8.8 billion. 

Other countries that have benefitted immensely from USAID funding include Nigeria at $8.72 billion, South Sudan $8.5 billion, Uganda $6.98 billion, and South Africa $6.39 billion. 

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https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/25641121/ 

The smallest recipients of USAID funding include Seychelles, which has only received $563,373, Mauritius $1.3 million, Sao Tome and Principe $1.9 million, Gabon $3.1 million, and Comoros 3.2 million. 

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USAID funding mostly went towards humanitarian protection, HIV/AIDS, and Malaria

The largest funding to African countries went towards the protection, assistance, and solutions sector at $47.4 billion. This sector mainly deals with helping people who have been displaced or affected by crises, conflicts, and disasters.  

USAID has also disbursed $27.7 billion to African countries to fight HIV/AIDS, $8.8 billion to eradicate malaria, and $6.4 billion to support agriculture. 

Other highly funded sectors include Basic Education at $4,6 billion, maternal and child health at $3.9 billion, family planning and reproductive health at $3.4 billion, and social services at $2.3 billion. 

https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/25641188/ 

Notably, USAID also funded political sectors. For instance, it disbursed $2.8 billion for good governance, $1.7 billion for conflict mitigation, $1 billion for civil society and political competition, and $340.8 million for policies and regulations. This may suggest that the United States is interested in how foreign nations are managed and governed. 

About the Data

This article is an analysis based on a dataset sourced from US Foreign Assistance showing U.S. foreign aid disbursed through USAID to African countries from 2001 to 2024, detailing funding amounts and target sectors for each country. Find the clean full dataset here

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Cover Photo by James Wiseman on Unsplash