The Trump Administration recently shared its Congressional Budget Justification for the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. The budget proposes a staggering 47.7% cut to the Department of State and International Programs compared to FY25. Within these cuts, the President proposes zeroing out U.S. contributions to the African Development Fund (ADF), the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) concessional lending arm which provides grants, low-interest loans, and guarantees to low-income countries in the region.
For the U.S. to step away from the ADF at this critical time would be a mistake. According to the World Bank, 20 African countries are at risk of debt distress, and almost two-thirds of Sub-Saharan African countries have been designated as fragile, conflict-affected, or violent (FCV) countries at least once since 1998. The Trump Administration’s previously announced tariffs, including a 10 percent tariff on 29 African countries and an 11-50 percent tariff on 22 other African countries, will compound the economic instability across much of the continent. During these dynamic and uncertain times, Congress should recognize the value of a region-specific mechanism that serves the continent’s low-income countries. This support enables these countries to continue delivering essential services, minimizing the risk of greater conflict and violence.
As one of the largest shareholders in the multilateral development banks (MDBs) of which it is a member, the U.S. also plays a significant role in improving the policies and practices of the institutions, including the ADF. The U.S. maintains this role through its shareholder standing and meeting its pledges to the institution. The President’s proposed cut to ADF would mean that the U.S. would not meet the final trench of its commitment to ADF’s 16th replenishment, impacting its credibility in ongoing negotiations for the 17th replenishment and with regional and international partners.
Congress still has an opportunity to recognize the value of the ADF through FY26 appropriations and meet the outstanding U.S. pledge of $192 million to the institution. This support would enable the U.S. to maintain its influence at the ADF and push for policies and projects that align with American priorities and values. Congress should also condition this funding on improved policies and practices at the ADF by directing the Treasury Department on how to engage with the institution. In particular, we encourage Congress to act on the following issues:
- ADF-17: The ADF provides critical funding through grants and low-interest loans to the 37 poorest and most fragile African countries. As a regional MDB, the ADF does this while tailoring its programming to meet the unique needs of the continent. We urge Congress to fulfill the outstanding FY26 commitments to the ADF and to direct the Treasury Department on how to engage in the ADF’s 17th replenishment (ADF-17), which is underway this year. During ADF-17, donor countries will commit to contributing new financial resources and agree on policy priorities for the next two-year replenishment period. During the last ADF replenishment, ADF-16, the U.S. was the third-largest shareholder, pledging $567 million, behind Germany and France, which pledged $670 million and $611 million, respectively. The ADF leveraged these and other contributions to mobilize a total replenishment of $8.9 billion for the 2023-2024 period. U.S. support for ADF-16 allowed it to advocate for the inclusion of priorities related to “infrastructure investment and capacity building around such investments” in the ADF-16 policy package. We encourage Congress to recognize how the U.S. can continue to shape the agenda of the ADF by meeting its outstanding commitments to the institution and pledging to the ADF-17.
- Stakeholder engagement: At the urging of the U.S. and civil society, the AfDB has made some improvements in its openness to engaging with stakeholders affected by its investments, including communities and African civil society. For instance, the AfDB has committed to reintroducing a dedicated space for civil society participation during its Annual Meetings, in addition to the Civil Society Organization Forum that it holds each year. However, the AfDB’s marginal improvements have not gone far enough or extended to the ADF. The AfDB Group as a whole needs to improve its stakeholder engagement practices to be more receptive to seeking input or feedback on their projects and policies. As a large shareholder in both institutions, the U.S. should push for the AfDB and ADF to create more meaningful opportunities for stakeholder engagement throughout the project cycle, particularly during project implementation. While stakeholder engagement before project approval is important, it is equally essential that AfDB and ADF receive feedback throughout implementation to prevent harm and promote equitable access to project benefits.
- Accountability: The AfDB will launch its review of its independent accountability mechanism (IAM), the Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM), this year. The IRM provides communities harmed by AfDB or ADF projects a way to seek accountability and remedy. The last review was conducted in 2021, during which the U.S. played a pivotal role in pushing for civil society engagement during the review and improved accessibility, transparency, and effectiveness of the mechanism. Historically, the U.S. has been the greatest champion of accountability at the MDBs, a role that dates back decades and has spanned both Republican and Democratic administrations. Recognizing this influence, Congress should direct the Treasury Department to advocate for improvements to the IRM, which would improve the ability of communities to access and seek remedy through this mechanism. Building on recent developments at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), we encourage Congress also to direct the Treasury Department to push for the AfDB to develop a remedy policy.
- Energy access: The AfDB Group, which includes the ADF, is an important financier of resilience, energy access, and sustainable infrastructure on the African continent. These are issue areas that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently shared as priorities for U.S. engagement with the World Bank Group, including through the Mission 300 initiative, which seeks to provide electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030. As a partnership between the World Bank Group, the AfDB Group, and other development partners, effective and informed U.S. engagement with the ADF will be critical to achieving energy goals in Africa, particularly in countries affected by FCV, slow economic growth, and poor access to traditional capital markets.
We call on Congress to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the ADF and recognize the risk of creating a power vacuum if the U.S. were to step away from its role. Historically, U.S. contributions to the institutions have been relatively modest in dollar amount but powerful in terms of allowing the U.S. to advance its priorities in the poorest and most fragile contexts on the continent. We urge Congress to recognize this value and appropriate the necessary funding for the U.S. to meet its pledges and commitments to the ADF in FY26.