Tracing US Development Flows: A Study of the Traceability of US Aid to Ghana
Over 600 development organizations publish to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Standard. IATI provides up-to-date and reliable aid data to improve accountability, coordination and effectiveness. Aid flow traceability throughout the implementation chain is a key part of this. However, using 2013–2015 IATI data, it is only possible to verify that 7 percent of US aid to Ghana ($28 million) arrived in the country. The traceability gap stems from limited IATI reporting by the international NGOs and firms that implemented most aid activities. To enhance traceability, the US government should require its implementers to publish to IATI.