African Development Bank ranks 4th on global index of transparency

Publish What You Fund has ranked the African Development Bank fourth out of 47 global development institutions on its Aid Transparency Index. The Index is the only independent measure of aid transparency among the world’s major development agencies. The index places the Bank in the highest category of transparency along with other world-class institutions such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and UNDP.

“We congratulate the African Development Bank – Sovereign Portfolio on achieving 4th place in the 2020 Aid Transparency Index. As large quantities of aid are being reallocated to deal with the COVID-19 emergency, the transparency of international aid is more important than ever,” said Gary Forster, CEO of Publish What You Fund, which has produced the index each year since 2011.

Publish What You Fund ranked the Bank ‘very good’ — The highest of the five categories used to assess organisations’ transparency. The ranking is based on several criteria, including finance and budgets, basic information data, organisational planning and performance.

In the new Index, which covers the 2019 year, the African Development Bank scored 95.5 out of 100 on transparency — A significant improvement on its score for 2018.

“It is promising to see an increase in the quantity, quality and timeliness of aid data now being shared by a broad cross-section of the world’s major aid agencies. As we work together to fill the gaps in the aid data landscape, we look forward to exploring how we can best meet the demand for data and data engagement,” said Gary Forster, CEO of Publish What You Fund.

The institution’s commitment to total transparency is illustrated by MapAfrica — a web-based platform that maps all of the Bank’s investments across the African continent.

“I am absolutely delighted with this achievement!” said Swazi Tshabalala, Acting Senior Vice President for the African Development Bank Group. “It crowns this institution’s commitment to transparency at a time when it has never been so important. With such large volumes of funding now being assigned to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, it is crucial for our citizens to know how much, where and when the African Development Bank is investing in Africa’s development.”