NPR Investigation: Great Green Wall Only 13% of $19B Pledged Disbursed

An in-depth NPR investigative assessment published April 11, 2026 found that 18 years into the Great Green Wall initiative, most of the planned 4,350-mile belt across Africa 'remains no more green than barren fields.' The investigation found that only 13% of the $19 billion pledged for the GGW had actually been disbursed as of 2023 — approximately $2.5 billion of the total. Key challenges cited include poorly planned projects that lacked local community participation, opaque financing mechanisms, and inadequate coordination among the 11 Sahel nations in the corridor. The estimated cost to complete the GGW is $33 billion. The assessment noted cautious optimism tied to new Pan-African Agency leadership taking a more community-centred approach, but described current trajectory as far below what is needed to meet the 2030 target.