CEM REPORT | The African Development Bank (AfDB) has been named the most transparent institution in the world by the Publish What You Fund, the global campaign for aid and development transparency.
The Bank’s Sovereign Portfolio now ranks first out of 50 global development institutions in Publish What You Fund’s 2022 Aid Transparency Index, released today with a top score of 98.5.
This is according to information published on AfDB website yesterday.
Commenting on it acquired status, President of AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina, attributed the recognition to the relentless efforts of its personnel, who work tirelessly to deliver top quality under the highest levels of scrutiny.
“I am elated to learn of this outstanding recognition from Publish What You Fund. It is a testament to the relentless efforts of the more than 2,000 personnel across our organization who work tirelessly to accelerate Africa’s progress. Maintaining razor-sharp focus, they consistently deliver top quality under the highest levels of scrutiny. I am incredibly proud of them.”
He further commended Publish What You Fund on their efforts to make aid and development efforts more transparent and effective.
“I am incredibly proud of them. I commend Publish What You Fund for their important mission, combining robust research and technical expertise with targeted advocacy and engagement to make aid and development efforts more transparent and effective.”
Senior Vice President, Swazi Tshabalala expressing with score added that the bank has worked hard over the years to improve the disclosure of its aid flows.
“I am absolutely delighted with this score in an index that plays a key role in helping promote openness and greater transparency among international agencies.
“The bank has worked hard over the years to improve the disclosure of its aid flows by providing consistent, high-quality, and easily accessible data. Our top ranking has significant human and financial resource implications, as this is the only way to conduct our development business.”
CEM reports that AfDB achieved the highest score in the Aid Transparency Index’s ten-year history and moved into the top spot from its fourth-place ranking in 2020.
The ranking is based on several criteria. They include finance and budgets, basic information data, organisational planning and performance.
Chief Executive, Publish What You Fund, Gary Foster congratulating the bank said:
“We congratulate the African Development Bank’s sovereign portfolio for achieving 1st place in the 2022 Aid Transparency Index. For many years now the AfDB has engaged to understand the demands of the Index, and they have then re-engineered their approach to disclosure, accordingly publishing more comprehensive, higher quality data. This has been made possible because the efforts of their technical staff are matched by commitment to aid transparency from the highest levels of the organisation.”
The Index is the only independent measure of Aid Transparency among the world’s major development agencies.
The statement further disclosed that Bank’s non-sovereign portfolio was assessed for the first time and separately in the 2022 Index. The Bank is the second most transparent development finance institution dealing with non-sovereign operations. Its non-sovereign portfolio is ranked 12th among the 50 global development institutions under comparison.
The index is the only independent measure of aid transparency among the world’s major development agencies and think tanks have remained consistently in the ‘very good’ category since 2014.
