It is estimated that between $300bn and $1000bn has been spent on foreign aid to Africa since World War II, a mind-boggling thought given how little there is to show for it. The huge variation between the top and bottom ends of the estimate depends on who is making it: the cynic who thinks that aid is wasted and often ends up in the offshore bank account of a corrupt official, or the campaigner who thinks the developed nations, as one-time colonial powers, were instrumental in Africa’s demise and should do more to help.
In the developed world, there is compassion fatigue. In Africa, there are calls for greater assistance but no longer exclusively on the terms of creditors and donors. The view that the Bretton Woods Institutions have done more harm than good is pervasive. Somewhere in the middle, the message is being lost in translation.
