Tracking aid flows in light of the Covid-19 crisis
Get the latest update on aid spending every month
This tracker is updated monthly. The current data covers up to the end of January 2021. To receive monthly data updates by email, subscribe to our work on financing for sustainable development and crisis response.
Subscribe now
This tracker uses a unique real-time data to track and analyse aid commitments in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and bring forth evidence about how aid trends may be changing.
The data is sourced from the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). Real-time data from IATI is not curated and therefore open to small changes as the data is updated. This could result in changes to aspects of historical transactions as well as movement of transactions from one month to another. This can be due, for example, to adjustments between operations and accounting departments, journal entries to deal with accrual accounting or cumulative reporting over a quarter.
We compare data from February 2018 to January 2021 to show the changes in aid flows from pre-Covid levels. Our briefing ‘How is aid changing in the Covid-19 pandemic?’, contains more detail on our methodology. Additional data will be added each month as donors publish more recent information on their aid commitments.
The data in this tool is updated monthly. It currently shows data up to the end of January 2021.
See data on:
Figure 1: Aid commitments from IFIs have grown substantially in 2020 compared to 2019 – while bilateral donors’ aid commitments have declined
Aid commitments by key bilateral donors, IFIs and multilateral institutions (February 2018 – January 2021)
Bar chart showing that aid commitments from IFIs have grown substantially in 2020 compared to 2019 – while bilateral donors’ aid commitments have declined.
Source: Development Initiatives based on IATI.
Notes: IFI = international financial institution; OOF = other official flows.
Figure 2: IFI aid disbursements (including a growing proportion of ODA) have accelerated, while bilateral disbursements have decreased
Aid disbursements by key bilateral donors, IFIs and multilateral institutions (February 2018 – January 2021)
Bar chart showing that IFI aid disbursements (including a growing proportion of ODA) have accelerated, while bilateral disbursements have decreased
Source: Development Initiatives based on IATI.
Notes: IFI = international financial institution; OOF = other official flows.
Figure 3: Proportionally, bilateral donors' aid commitments to the poorest countries have slightly decreased, while lower middle-income countries have seen the largest increase
Comparison of aid to country income groupings for bilateral donors (February 2018 – January 2021)
Bar chart showing that, proportionally, bilateral donors' aid commitments to the poorest countries have slightly decreased with lower middle-income countries seeing the largest increase
Source: Development Initiatives based on IATI and World Bank country income groups.
Figure 4: Proportionally, IFI commitments to low-income countries have dropped between 2019 and 2020
Comparison of aid to country income groupings for IFIs (February 2018 – January 2021)
Bar chart showing that, proportionally, IFI commitments to low-income countries have dropped between 2019 and 2020
Source: Development Initiatives based on IATI and World Bank country income groups.
Notes: IFI = international financial institution; LIC = low-income country.
Figure 5: Bilateral donors have decreased the proportion of aid commitments to countries with the highest rates of extreme poverty
Comparison of aid by poverty banding between bilateral donors and IFIs (February 2018 – January 2021)
Bar chart showing that bilateral donors have decreased the proportion of aid commitments to countries with the highest rates of extreme poverty
Source: Development Initiatives based on IATI and World Bank PovcalNet.
Notes: IFI = international financial institution. People living in extreme poverty are defined as living on less than PPP$1.90 a day.
Figure 6: Bilateral donors have maintained aid commitments to health, driving smaller reductions in social sectors at the expense of some other sectors
Changes by bilateral donors in broad sector focus (February 2018 – January 2021)
Bar chart showing that bilateral donors have maintained aid commitments to health, driving smaller reductions in social sectors at the expense of some other sectors
Source: Development Initiatives based on IATI.
Figure 7: Aid commitments from IFIs have increased across a range of sectors, with a particular focus on social sectors
Changes by IFIs in broad sector focus (February 2018 – January 2021
Bar chart showing aid commitments from IFIs have increased across a range of sectors, with a particular focus on social sectors
Source: Development Initiatives based on IATI.
Notes: IFI = international financial institution.
Figure 8: Bilateral donors have focused aid commitments on both health and banking and business, at the expense of other sectors, while IFIs have seen proportionally greater focus on social protection, education and health
Sector percentage changes for bilateral donors and IFIs (February 2019 – January 2021)
Bar chart showing that bilateral donors have focused aid commitments on both health and banking and business, at the expense of other sectors, while IFIs have seen proportionally greater focus on social protection, education and health, with volume increases across the board
Source: Development Initiatives based on IATI.
Notes: IFI = international financial institution.
Share Tracking aid flows in light of the Covid-19 crisis
Downloads
Related content
Aid data 2019–2020: Analysis of trends before and during Covid
What key shifts in donors, sectors, targeting and loans during the Covid pandemic are highlighted by new DAC data on 2019 ODA and 2020 aid figures from IATI?
How is aid changing in the Covid-19 pandemic?
This briefing sets out near real-time data on aid for the first half of 2020. It shows how commitments are changing in the Covid-19 pandemic and where these are most likely to affect the poorest people and places.
Adapting aid to end poverty: Delivering the commitment to leave no one behind in the context of Covid-19
This report calls for us to refocus ODA (aid) in the context of Covid-19, shifting the ‘leave no one behind’ agenda from inclusive growth to inclusive recovery. It analyses changes to poverty and how the pandemic has impacted finance vital to the poorest people.