July 2019: AidData, a research lab at the College of William & Mary in the US, published a policy brief that tracks financing to the SDGs and analyzes donor priorities in SDG funding. The publication finds that funding for the “environmental goals” is low in the four countries studied: Cambodia, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire and Rwanda.

The brief titled, ‘Financing the SDGs: Evidence in Four Countries,’ presents analysis on SDG financing from 2010-2016 for the four countries. Of these, Rwanda has the highest SDG finance per capita, at USD126; followed by Cambodia, with USD88; Cote d’Ivoire with USD68; and Colombia, with USD67. Rwanda’s SDG-related financing grew from USD0.9 billion in 2010 to USD1.5 billion in 2016, for a total of USD7.5 billion. Cote d’Ivoire’s SDG-related financing more than doubled between 2010 and 2016, increasing to USD9.9 billion. Cambodia’s SDG-related funding also increased significantly over time, to USD7.4 billion. Colombia received the most SDG financing between 2010-2016, with a total of USD19.8 billion.

The EU and US “provide aid differently,” with the EU institutions focusing on a limited portfolio of SDGs in each country.

The brief analyzes SDG financing by individual SDGs for each country. Rwanda received the largest amount of SDG-related funding for SDG 3 (good health and well-being), with USD1.89 billion in financing. SDG 2 (zero hunger) placed second at USD1.09 billion, followed by SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) at USD0.79 billion and SDG 4 (quality education) at USD0.70 billion, and SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) at USD0.66 billion. Although SDGs 3 and 8 (decent work and economic growth) received the most funding overall, donor funding for health in Rwanda in 2016 is about one-third of 2010 levels.

Cote d’Ivoire’s SDG-related financing is dominated by debt relief (SDG 17, partnerships for the Goals), which received USD3.39 billion, over 2.5 times more than the next highest goal, SDG 3, which received USD1.26 billion. Other SDGs that placed among the top five in terms of financing are: SDG 2, with USD0.85, SDG 7 at USD0.81 billion and SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure) at USD0.72 billion.

The brief finds that SDG-related financing for Cambodia is spread “fairly evenly over a large number of goals,” including SDG 3, with USD1.07 billion; SDG 9, with USD0.99 billion; SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), with USD0.92 billion; SDG 8, with USD0.72 billion; SDG 2, with USD0.64 billion; and SDG 4, also with USD0.64. In Colombia, 20% of SDG-related financing went to SDG 16, with USD3.91 billion received. Other SDGs that placed in the five top-financed SDGs for Colombia are: SDG 11, with USD3.15; SDG 8, with USD2.73 billion; SDG 1 (no poverty), with USD1.72; and SDG 7, with USD1.41 billion. Since the launch of the SDGs in 2015, Colombia has received more funding for SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 15 (life on land), although the environmental Goals still remain among the least funded.

The brief finds that both country context and donors’ priorities influence SDG financing. Three donors rank among the top ten across all four countries: the US, the EU)and Germany. The brief states that the EU and US “provide aid differently” from each other, with the EU institutions focusing on a limited portfolio of SDGs in each country and funding a smaller number of higher-value projects. As an illustration, the EU funded activities related to five SDGs in Colombia, while the US contributed financing related to 16 SDGs. Similarly, the EU contributed funding for 101 SDG projects between 2010 and 2016, with an average project value of USD19.3 million, and the US committed funding to 2,956 projects, with an average USD1.78 million per project. The EU focused more on agriculture and food aid (SDG 2) and the US prioritized funding on health (SDG 3).

The brief also features a deep dive on SDG 4 that examines where donors target their spending on education. For each of the four case studies, SDG 4 falls in the middle in terms of donor priorities. Approximately 40-50%of donor funding on Goal 4 is spent on SDG target 4.1 (primary and secondary education) and SDG target 4.4 (job skills). The brief cautions, however, that examining education funding only by recipient country “provides an incomplete picture.” When examining individual donor preferences for education funding, the US spent 75% of its education funding on primary and secondary education, but France spent 75% of its education financing on scholarships (SDG target 4.b). Japan and the Republic of Korea finance a broad range of education targets. The African Development Bank (AfDB) invests 100% of its targeted educating spending on SDG target 4.4 (job skills). [Publication: Financing the SDGs: Evidence in Four Countries]