Critical assistance from the United States to Nigeria and other African countries may be scrapped as President Donald Trump proposed an end to its annual contribution to the African Development Fund.
This was contained in a cover letter to the Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Bidget Request.
The budget estimates for 2026 titals $1.7 trillion and proposes heavy cuts to various domestic and foreign programmes.
In a letter signed by the Director, Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Russell T. Vought, to the Chair, U.S Senate Committee on Appropriatuons, Susan Collins, the American leader proposed cuts to foreign development assistance for a number of initiatives.
One of the initiatives is the ADF.
“The United States contributes annually to the African Development Fund (ADF), though the exact amount varies. For the 2023-2025 funding cycle (ADF-16), the US is the third-largest bilateral donor, providing about 6% of the total $8.9 billion raised. This translates to roughly $534 million. US contributions are also crucial for catalyzing additional funding from other donors and internally generated resources, with the US Treasury noting that $1 in US contributions could lead to nearly $16 in additional funding. In addition to direct contributions to the ADF, the US also supports African Development Bank initiatives through programs like Power Africa, which focuses on the energy sector.,” according to the African Development Bank.
Trump also proposed the streamlining of contributions to the International Development Association.
The budget column titled ‘Contributions to Multilateral Development Banks (African
Development Bank, African Development Fund), reads: “Consistent with Executive Order 14169, “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” the Budget proposes to eliminate contributions to the African Development Fund, which is not
currently aligned to Administration priorities.
“The Budget also includes $3.2 billion over three years for the U.S. Government contribution to the International Development Association 21, where other donors and institutions should take on more of the burden sharing. This fulfills the President’s promise to no longer dole out foreign aid dollars with no return on investment for the American
people.”
Information from AfDB sates that: “Nigeria has received significant assistance from the African Development Fund, including loans and grants for various development projects. In a recent example, the African Development Bank Group approved a loan of $500 million for the Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Program (EGET-SP) to boost electricity access. Additionally, a $288.5 million loan was approved to help Nigeria tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Other examples include a $150 million loan for the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) and a $100 million commitment for youth and women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). A $1.44 billion investment was also made to support infrastructure development in Nigeria. ”
