International aid to Africa needs an overhaul. Tips on what needs to change
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Disclosure statement
Tigist Mekonnen Melesse does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The fact that foreign aid as currently practised has failed to achieve its poverty reduction targets in Africa is clear from the data. Over 75% of the world’s poor live in Africa today. In 1970 the figure was 10%. Some forecasts suggest it could rise to 90% by 2030.
Africa is the only continent in the world where official aid inflow outstrips private capital inflow by a large margin. This is problematic since no country in the world has achieved substantial development based on reliance on aid.