Publish What You Fund, the global campaign for aid and development transparency, has once again named the African Development Bank’s sovereign portfolio as the most transparent.

The portfolio emerged first out of 50 global development institu­tions with a top score of 98.8 in its 2024 Aid Transparency Index released yesterday.

The bank’s sovereign portfolio climbed four places in the ranking in 2022 to top the Index, setting the standard for high-quality data publication.

For a second time running, the result highlights the bank’s con­tinued effort and prioritisation of good-quality data publication.

The Aid Transparency Index has tracked the transparency of the largest international aid organisa­tions over the last 12 years.

The 2024 Index assesses six sovereign (public sector) portfoli­os and six non-sovereign (private sector) portfolios of development finance institutions (DFIs).

The sovereign portfolios of development finance institutions occupy three of the top five positions in the ranking, with the African Development Bank coming first, the Inter-American Devel­opment Bank, second and the World Bank International Development Association, fourth.

“I am delighted by this recogni­tion from Publish What You Fund. It is a testament once again to the commitment of the bank’s Board, management, and staff to contin­uously improve the disclosure of aid flows by providing consistent, high-quality, and easily accessible data,” Dr Akinwumi Adesina, Pres­ident of the African Development Bank, said in a statement issued by the bank yesterday.

“This achievement is especially significant given the new, more rigorous assessment standards and transparency requirements for development financial institu­tions. The rating of our sovereign portfolio as the most transparent development organisation in the world for the second consecutive time is simply extraordinary. I commend Publish What You Fund for the vital and much-needed work it does in making aid and develop­ment efforts more transparent and effective,” Dr Adesina said.

Topping the 2024 Index, the African Development Bank’s Sovereign Portfolio demonstrated its commitment to publishing very good, high-quality data about its activities, the report noted.

It is used as an example of data pub­lished about the Zambia – Lusaka Sanitation Programme – Climate Resilient Sustainable Infrastructure Project.

The report commended the bank for detailed publication of project objectives, impact appraisal documents, environmental studies and evaluation reports – a total of over 29 documents in both French and English.

“We congratulate the African Development Bank as it continues to lead the Aid Transparency Index with its sovereign portfolio. This is the result of a persistent focus on transparency, meaningful involve­ment with the Aid Transparency Index process, and pro-active engagement with the IATI commu­nity,” Publish What You Fund’s CEO, Gary Forster, said.

“AfDB has demonstrated that progress can be made swiftly and effectively by adhering to best prac­tices and ensuring the availability of information. The AfDB’s desire to provide useful and timely data doesn’t end with what we measure in the Index, we’re also impressed by their investment in Map Africa – a portal which helps stakeholders locate and learn about individual projects,” he said.

This year’s Index focuses on the prominence of development finance institutions as vehicles for international aid.

“The ongoing Multilateral Devel­opment Bank (MDB) reform agen­da promises to increase resources, allow higher risk investments, streamline business processes and improve coordination between banks. In most cases the growth of the banks will be from greater borrowing on the capital markets rather than use of aid money,” the report said.

The African Development Bank’s non-sovereign portfolio was assessed for the second time and separately in the 2024 Index.

Its non-sovereign portfolio ranked 13th among the 50 global development institutions under comparison.