Official development assistance (ODA) in the form of loans, grants and technical assistance from multilateral and bilateral sources totalled US$2.0 billion or approximately $316.2 billion last year.

Disbursed to developing countries for the promotion of economic development and welfare programmes, ODA funding resources are primarily provided by a range of sources including bilateral partners (representing 64.4 per cent of total ODA); multilateral financing institutions (MFIs), multilateral technical cooperation (MTC) agencies and environment and climate change (EnCC) funds.

Under the bilateral cooperation portfolio funds amounted to US$1.3 billion ($203.6 billion), of which US$764.1 million was in the form of grants, US$341.4 million in the form of loans and counterpart was US$208.2 million.

“Among the five largest cooperation programmes, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) provided US$402.3 million (62.3 billion) in loans and grants, and the United Kingdom provided grant financing of US$117.1 million ($18.2 billion) for new and ongoing projects, making it the largest provider of grant financing,” the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica (ESSJ) 2023 report noted.

Despite a near 35 per cent decrease when compared to the previous year, new ODA totalled $19.4 billion last year. Over the five-year period, 2019-2023, this was valued at approximately $155.0 billion with loans and grants resources totalling $96.1 billion and $60.8 billion, respectively.

“New ODA reflected a general downward trend, with the exception of 2020 and 2021, when increased International Development Partner (IDP) support was provided for the COVID-19 response and post COVID macroeconomic stabilisation,” ESSJ findings revealed.

“Loan approvals totalled $4.6 billion, a 70.0 per cent reduction when compared with the previous year, while newly approved grants were $12.5 billion, a 16.2 per cent increase. This change is aligned with the GOJ’s policy to secure more grant resources for development projects,” it added.

Based on the data presented, a large portion of the financing was used to fund violence prevention, youth empowerment and education programmes across the island. Sector allocations also saw the highest flows being channelled to social infrastructure which included health, education, housing and social safety net, totalling US$72.5 million or just about $11.2 billion. The second largest allocations were made in the areas of administrative support which saw public sector reform, justice, budget support and governance valued at US$29.2 million ($4.5 billion) followed by environment and climate change which included natural hazards, ecosystem preservation, disaster risk reduction and climate change resilience at US$7.7 million ($1.2 billion).

“As a small island developing state, Jamaica is highly vulnerable to natural disasters stemming from climate change, especially along the coastline. In response, the Government has sought to engage with IDPs to access resources to build resilience and implement activities aimed at mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Between 2014 and 2023, the country received approximately US$171.4 million in ODA resources directed towards the environment and climate change sector with a share of 77 per cent of resources [coming] in the form of grants,” the survey informed.

Funding from multi-national organisations such as the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), which totalled $5.9 billion, saw the largest portion or $4.6 billion of its assistance funding economic infrastructure. Cooperation with the European Union (EU) also consisted of 14 programmes and projects totalling $14.6 billion. Additionally, the cooperation programme with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) totalled $42.2 billion comprising loan financing of $40.7 billion for eight projects and grants totalling $1.4 billion for 24 projects.

“The IDB’s total financing registered a decrease of $16.4 billion as a number of operations ended and there were no new investment loans during the period,” the data also noted.

As ODA from IDPs continue to support government strategic priorities over the medium term, areas targeted for increased investments the study said includes “digital transformation, human capital development, social protection, health, security and climate resilience, among several others.”