U.S. Foreign Aid Lacks Transparency, New Study Says

Terry Miller / October 03, 2012

A new study by the international watchdog group Publish What You Fund finds U.S. foreign aid programs lagging seriously in transparency.

According to the organization, transparency is critical for ensuring genuine accountability for results.

Of the various U.S. aid organizations, the Millennium Challenge Corporation is the most transparent, with a score of 69.6 percent. That was good enough for ninth place on the list of international aid providers. The U.S. Agency for International Development, by contrast, ranks just 27th, with a transparency score barely breaking 50 percent.

U.S. aid programs have long been criticized for their lack of impact. As long as they continue to hide behind a veil of secrecy, there is little hope for improvement.