The IMF Spring Meetings are taking place from 13 to 18 April 2026. On 13 April 2026 a presentation was given by Athene Laws and Maurizio Leonardi of the IMF’s Africa department with the title: Aid cuts in Sub-Saharan Africa: This Time is Different. The presenters noted that we are in a phase of aid cuts. Overseas development aid has fallen by 16% to 28% in 2025 alone. Further reductions are likely when new cycles of funding begin. Multilateral organisations are also facing financial pressure, so they cannot step in to fill the funding gap. Aid to Sub-Saharan African countries has averaged around 3% of GDP per year.
Low-income countries in the region are the most aid-dependent, receiving around 6% of GDP, compared to around 1% of GDP for emerging economies. More than half the project aid goes to health, education and humanitarian assistance. Traditional donors channel most of the funding through multilateral organisations. The international donors have included the developed western countries, China and the Gulf states.
Low-income and conflict-affected countries face difficult issues. Aid for humanitarian assistance in the region fell by 42% in 2025. Before last year, falls were generally predictable and country specific, often because large projects were scheduled to finish. Now the cuts are simultaneous and donor driven, unexpected and in mid-project. Low income and fragile states already have low buffers against economic shocks; and are at high risk of debt distress.
Three important constraints are: lack of information; limited fiscal space; and capacity constraints within the administration. This makes it difficult for governments to continue their projects when external funding is cut. If projects are suspended, there is a high humanitarian cost. Analysis suggests that four out of ten countries in the region are planning spending reprioritisation. A third of the countries plan to increase borrowing; and a quarter of countries plan domestic resource mobilisation though increased taxation.
If countries try to replace the lost aid using their available resources, they could preserve economic growth but face fiscal problems. If countries do not replace the aid funding, there will be severe human and development consequences. It is important for countries to protect the flows of funding, giving priority to humanitarian assistance. Countries need to mobilise their domestic resources to try to fill the gaps.
The countries of the region could expand their available toolkit, by looking at blended finance and the use of development funding to crowd-in investments from the private sector. By increasing domestic resource mobilisation, countries can build up resilience from within the region. As part of domestic resource mobilisation, countries should give priority to both taxation and efficient spending. Countries must increase their capacity to design policy and deliver services. This latest aid shock is a structural shift in flows of funding. Countries need to respond now and shape their policy for future years.
