INGO’s push for localisation and new financial modules

Ghana’s civil society organizations are grappling with shrinking donor support, following sharp cuts in U.S. government funding that have stripped away an estimated $100–$200 million in aid.

At a recent Localization and Partnerships Forum in Accra, development partners, NGOs, and government agencies called for urgent action to strengthen local ownership and diversify financing.

Michael Allandu, who spoke at the forum, warned that “CARE International alone has lost nearly 80% of its funding,” noting that the sector cannot rely on traditional aid flows. He urged a shift toward community-led development, with stronger reliance on village savings and loans associations and blended financing models that combine public and private resources.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana, Mr. Zia Choudhury, echoed this urgency, stressing that NGOs and governments must “embed accountability, transparency, and solidarity” if the Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved despite dwindling donor support.

The French Embassy in Ghana outlined its strategy of working closely with civil society, particularly on youth empowerment, biodiversity protection, HIV awareness, and sexual and reproductive health. “Civil society organizations and international NGOs are key partners in implementing the SDGs,” said Marie Tolomi, Cooperation Attaché. Her colleague Alberta Messia detailed partnerships with Surf Ghana, Arusha Ghana, Amnesty International, and others, noting that direct grants and volunteer programs remain central to French cooperation. In 2024 alone, France deployed 101 volunteers to Ghana and sent 19 Ghanaian volunteers to France as part of an exchange program.

Local organizations also raised their voices at the forum. Kevin Agyeman of Savannah Signatures painted a stark picture: “The collapse of long-standing donor streams has not just interrupted programs—it has left lives disrupted, jobs lost, and essential services withdrawn. This is not a theory; it is a lived crisis.”

He urged development partners to support homegrown sustainability models so that national NGOs do not “crumble with the stroke of a foreign policy pen.”

Other speakers, including Eric Ayaba delivering remarks on behalf of the International NGO Forum, placed the crisis in a global context. He argued that the decline of aid is linked to “scandals that rocked some INGOs, shrinking donor trust, and shifting funds toward emergencies and conflicts.” He noted that with U.S. aid unlikely to return, “the big aid system is not coming back,” making localization and innovative financing models the only way forward.

Despite the challenges, participants highlighted promising pathways: partnerships with the private sector, diaspora philanthropy, and government outsourcing of public programs to capable local NGOs. “Localization should not be seen as a threat to INGOs,” Agyeman emphasized, “but as a partnership that strengthens resilience and ensures that citizens shape their own priorities.”

The forum closed with a call for renewed commitment to Ghanaian-led solutions, stronger government engagement, and more creative financing to sustain critical social services. As Ayaba put it, “This is indeed a time to reinvent, a time to reimagine, and a time to reset the NGO sustainability and financing models.”