Aid to Africa: A Review of the Efficacy of International Aid to Sub-Saharan Africa

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Recommended: Giving international aid to poor countries

Despite the hundreds of billions of dollars that have been poured into Sub-Saharan Africa over the past century in an effort to propel development, Africa remains by far the poorest continent in the world. Failure has arisen from the problematic nature of the administration of the aid. Traditionally, aid has come in the form of military aid, and large international financial transactions. Although these forms of aid have overall failing track records, targeted developmental assistance has been historically successful. In order to pull Africa out of poverty, the international community should focus on targeted developmental assistance.
Military Aid
Recent military conflicts have broken out all across northern Africa and the sub-Saharan Sahel Region. Most countries in these regions face their own unique violent conflicts. Conflicts stem from a myriad of sources including ethnic differences, political or religious ideologies, low human development, corrupt and oppressive governance, resource disputes, and poor economic performance (Oyeniyi 1). Governments all across North Africa were overthrown in the Arab Spring, and violent conflicts with extremist factions such as Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have resulted in large amounts of international military aid to this region.
Proponents of military aid argue that the political instability the region currently faces precludes any meaningful economic or political development. Extremist factions oppose development in the region, as this would decrease their capacity to operate with impunity. For example, the name of a Nigerian extremist group “Boko Haram” essentially means “Western education is sacrilege.” Western ideals such as democracy, capitalism, and transparency are essent...

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...rks. Bread for the World Institute. March 2012.Web. 25 March 2014.
Francis, David, J. The regional impact of the armed conflict and French intervention in Mali. Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre. April 2013. Web. 25 March 2014.
One.org. Development Assistance. One. Web. 25 March 2014.
Oyeniyi, Adeleye. Conflict and Violence in Africa: Causes, Sources and Types. Transcend Media Service. 28 February 2011. Web. 25 March 2014.
Turse, Nick, Tom Dispatch. The Terror Diaspora: The US Military and the Unraveling of Africa. Truthout.org. 18 June 2013. Web 25 March 2014.
Wallis, William. Mali joins US list of ‘terror’ boomerangs. The Financial Times. 18 January
2013. Web. 25 March 2014.
Williamson, Claudia, R., Ph.D. Exploring the failure of foreign aid: The role of incentives and information. Springer Science and Business Media. 11 July 2009. Web. 25 March 2014.

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