U.S. Government Accountability Office: Humanitarian Assistance: USAID Should Improve Information Collection and Communication to Help Mitigate Implementers’ Banking Challenges
“U.S. agencies partner with nonprofit organizations to deliver humanitarian assistance around the world. Unstable or high-conflict areas, where aid is often needed, have a higher risk of financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorism financing. Banks may limit risk by limiting services to those areas — which we found can reduce agency partners’ ability to deliver assistance. The U.S. Agency for International Development — a major source of aid — should address its partners’ banking access challenges to ensure the agency can meet its humanitarian objectives. We recommended collecting and sharing information to help mitigate the challenges” (9/20).