For many NGOs in Kenya and across East Africa, 2026 has been a year of smaller budgets and harder choices. Communications teams have felt it as much as anyone: fewer staff, fewer field trips, and the same expectation that donors, partners and the public will hear about the work. This article looks at what the aid figures actually say, and at practical ways to keep telling strong stories with less money. It is written for communications leads, programme managers and anyone who has just been asked to “do more with less”.

What the numbers say

The scale of the change is now clear from the OECD’s own data. According to preliminary figures published in April 2026, official development assistance (ODA) from members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee fell by 23.1% in real terms in 2025, to USD 174.3 billion. It was the largest annual drop on record.

The cuts were concentrated among a handful of donors. The United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan and France together accounted for about 96% of the decline, with US aid falling by roughly 57%. For organisations working in this region, the detail matters more than the headline:

• bilateral aid to sub-Saharan Africa fell by 26.3%;
• bilateral aid to the least developed countries fell by 25.8%;
• humanitarian aid fell by 35.8%.

The outlook does not offer quick relief. The OECD’s projections, published in June 2026, expect ODA to fall by a further 6.9% in 2026, which would make it the third year of decline in a row. The April release had put the expected 2026 fall at 5.8%, so the forecast has worsened, not improved.

Why communications budgets are often cut first

When money is short, organisations protect programmes, and rightly so. Communications can look like a cost that can wait. The difficulty is that funding is now more competitive than it has been for years. Donors who are still giving are choosing between more applicants, and they want clear evidence of results. Organisations that go quiet risk being forgotten just when they need to be seen.

The answer is rarely to keep spending as before. It is to spend more deliberately: fewer pieces of content, each planned to do several jobs.

Seven ways to do more with less

1. Start with the audiences that fund you

Before planning any content, list who you most need to reach this year: existing institutional donors, new foundations, individual supporters, government partners. Retaining an existing donor is usually more valuable than chasing a new audience. A clear donor report video can do more for income than a polished campaign aimed at nobody in particular.

2. Plan one shoot to serve many outputs

Travel, crew time and community time are the costly parts of any field shoot. Once you are there, the extra cost of capturing more material is small. Plan in advance for a main film, short social cuts, a donor update, stills and quotes for reports, so that a single trip feeds your communications for months. Our guide to NGO video formats sets out which formats suit which audiences.

3. Get consent that allows reuse

Much archive footage cannot be used again because the original consent was too narrow or was never written down. Clear, informed, written consent that covers the uses you can reasonably foresee, and that people understand, protects participants and lets you get value from material you already have. It should always leave people free to say no or to withdraw.

4. Audit what you already own

Many organisations sit on years of footage and photographs. A short audit, checking what exists, where it is stored, who appears in it and what consent covers it, often turns up enough material for an anniversary film, an impact summary or a set of short clips without a new shoot.

5. Share costs with partners

Consortia and implementing partners often visit the same communities for the same programme. A shared shoot, with one crew and an agreed list of outputs for each partner, can cut costs for everyone and spare communities from repeated visits. The terms need agreeing in writing, especially who owns and may use the footage.

6. Match the tool to the job

Not every piece of content needs a professional crew. Staff with a smartphone can produce useful routine updates if they have a little training and a simple checklist. Keep professional production for the pieces that carry real weight: flagship films, donor reports and proposals for large grants. Mixing the two is often the most efficient model.

7. Brief clearly and measure what matters

Unclear briefs cost money through reshoots and extra edit rounds. A one-page brief that states the audience, the single message, the outputs and the deadline saves time on both sides; our video production brief template is a good starting point. Afterwards, track whether the content did its job: a renewed grant, a meeting with a new funder, completed views on a donor update.

What not to cut

Some savings cost more than they save. Do not cut corners on consent and safeguarding, which protect the people in your stories and your organisation’s reputation. Be wary of replacing real footage with AI-generated images of people: donors are increasingly sensitive to authenticity, and a single misleading image can undo years of trust. And do not let quality fall so far that the work looks careless, because funders often read the quality of communications as a sign of how an organisation is run.

Where Afrovo fits

Afrovo Studios works with NGOs and conservation organisations across East Africa on films designed to be used many times over, from donor reports to campaign films and short social content. We work to a published ethical storytelling policy, and our NGO video production service is built around planning shoots that serve several audiences at once.

Sources

• OECD, “International aid fell sharply in 2025, says OECD”, press release, April 2026; and “A historic decline in foreign aid: Preliminary 2025 ODA data”, April 2026.
• Focus 2030, “Historic drop in Official Development Assistance in 2025”, 9 April 2026.
• African Business, “OECD data shows brutal drop in development assistance”, 23 April 2026.
• OECD, “ODA projections for 2026 and the near term”, June 2026.
• ONE Campaign, press statement on the OECD ODA projections for 2026, 22 June 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How much did international aid fall in 2025?

According to preliminary OECD data published in April 2026, official development assistance fell by 23.1% in real terms in 2025, to USD 174.3 billion, the largest annual drop on record. Bilateral aid to sub-Saharan Africa fell by 26.3%.

Is aid expected to recover in 2026?

Not yet. OECD projections published in June 2026 expect a further fall of 6.9% in 2026, which would be the third year of decline in a row.

How can an NGO keep producing video on a smaller budget?

Plan each field shoot to produce several outputs, secure written consent that allows reasonable reuse, audit existing footage, share shoots with partners, and keep professional production for flagship and donor-facing pieces while staff handle routine updates.

Should we replace field footage with AI-generated images to save money?

We advise against it for images of people. Real footage, gathered with informed consent, is more credible with donors and the public, and AI depictions of people can mislead and damage trust.

Afrovo Studios is a Nairobi-based video production company working across East Africa, making documentaries, campaign films and corporate video for NGOs, conservation organisations and brands. Get in touch to talk about your next project.