Expert SpeakRaisina Debates
Published on Sep 15, 2026
As cuts to Western aid deepen Africa’s development financing pressures, BRICS must move beyond political solidarity to expand development finance and strengthen practical cooperation with African countries
India’s BRICS presidency comes at a time when the world is navigating a crisis like never before. The United States(US)-Iran war and the Ukraine-Russia war have led to severe supply shocks, energy disruptions, and a massive food crisis in large parts of the world, notably Africa. Three major trade routes — the Strait of Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb, and the Black Sea—are currently facing pressure simultaneously, increasing the risk of a triple chokepoint that could push millions of Africans into hunger.
Intensifying strikes on Black Sea ports undermine food exports from Russia and Ukraine, which together account for nearly 27.3 percent of global wheat exports. Bab-el-Mandeb is a critical trade link between Europe and Asia, while the Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important routes for energy and fertilisers, key inputs in agriculture. Energy and fertiliser supply disruptions are likely to reduce future harvests and raise costs throughout the global food system. Africa is experiencing the worst impacts of the rupture in global stability.
The continent is reeling under successive shocks since the COVID-19 pandemic. Though public debt ratios are gradually stabilising across the continent, vulnerabilities remain high. The World Bank projects interest payments on public debt at between 2.9 and 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), which constrains African governments’ fiscal space, public spending, and growth prospects.
Africa is also disproportionately affected by the West’s rapid withdrawal from the international development scene. Official development assistance from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) countries in 2025 was 27.8 percent lower than its peak in 2023, at US$ 229.2 billion (Figure 1). Multilateral agencies are also facing financial challenges due to severe funding cuts by Western governments — particularly the US, which was the largest provider of official development assistance (ODA). Amid two major wars and rising defence spending, most Western countries — including the United Kingdom (UK), which does not have an avowedly anti-aid position like that of US President Donald Trump’s administration — are also slashing their aid budgets.
Figure 1: ODA flows and grant equivalent measures by official providers from 2015 to 2025 (US$ billion constant 2024 prices)
The consequences have been particularly hard for African countries that were critically dependent on aid. Health systems, for instance, are collapsing in several African countries, including Nigeria, Malawi, and Ghana, where a substantial share of public health expenditure was financed through development aid. The impact is also being felt in food security: hunger is rising across Africa as much of the food assistance has been halted following President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend food aid. In Ethiopia, a BRICS member country, nearly 79 million people (about 60.1 percent of the country’s population) are facing hunger due to a combination of climatic factors, supply disruptions, and stalled food aid.
These pressures are unfolding alongside broader development setbacks. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are severely off track. Only 36 percent of the 139 SDG targets are making moderate progress, while 15 percent have regressed below 2015 baselines. Africa also faces a widening infrastructure funding gap — estimated at US$ 60 billion in 2025.
The critical question for BRICS is whether it can scale up its development efforts as Western engagement recedes and the Global South confronts an intensifying crisis. BRICS has emerged as a major provider of sustainable development solutions for the Global South over the last decade. By the end of 2025, the New Development Bank (NDB) had approved 119 projects worth US$ 35.6 billion. With more democratic institutional governance, the NDB also serves as an important counterweight to the Western model of development finance, based on strict hierarchies between donor and recipient countries.
Though BRICS clearly cannot fill this huge financing gap, the grouping must commit more re
BRICS has emerged as a major development actor over the last decade but must scale up development financing to play a stronger role in a crisis-ridden world. The financing gap for sustainable development is widening rapidly. Most international estimates suggest that developing countries need an additional US$ 4 trillion in investment annually for SDG implementation. Though BRICS clearly cannot fill this huge financing gap, the grouping must commit more re
Second, the NDB must broaden its development financing beyond large emerging-market countries to smaller low-income countries. As of December 2025, the original five BRICS members accounted for nearly 99 percent of the NDB’s active portfolio, while newer members represented only a very small share (Figure 2). As BRICS expands, particularly in Africa, its development financing to African countries must also grow rapidly.
Figure 2: The New Development Bank’s active portfolio by country as of December 2025
African countries seek to strengthen their engagement with BRICS, viewing the grouping as an alternative to the West, their traditional economic partner. Many African countries seek to reduce their economic dependence on the West and are increasingly dissatisfied with the inequities of Western-led financial institutions.
The success of India’s presidency will depend on its ability to deliver tangible development gains for Africa, the most vulnerable region of the Global South.
As a prominent voice of the Global South, India plays an important role in furthering Africa’s development interests on international platforms. Its Group of Twenty (G20) presidency was marked by the African Union’s entry as a permanent G20 member and by its prioritisation of the Global South’s development concerns.
However, Africa now needs more than a seat at the table. To address its challenges and realise its aspirations, the continent needs financial reeration on all these fronts. The success of India’s presidency will depend on its ability to deliver tangible development gains for Africa, the most vulnerable region of the Global South
Malancha Chakrabartyis a Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.
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Malancha Chakrabarty
Dr Malancha Chakrabarty is Senior Fellow and Deputy Director (Research) at the Observer Research Foundation where she coordinates the research centre Centre for New Economic …
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