Overcoming Development Aid Fatigue, Deciding Together and Shifting Power to Communities in Africa

The growing economic gap between countries in the global south and the global north has dominated international relations and diplomacy for a long time. This gap has led to constant capital inflows and investment from the global north to the global south, including Africa, intended to reduce the gap. However, there is evidence that over the last 50 years, development aid has done little in changing the destinies of many African states, only very few Least Developed Countries (LDC) have graduated out of the status. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been given to African governments in the form of grants. In addition, even more, billions were lent to these same governments. Yet the state of development in Africa is not significantly better today. Per capita incomes, for most African countries, is either stagnant or declining. This suggests to some extent that there is more to the African challenge than just responding with money as this is not likely to turn things around. Therefore, the global community is challenged to try something different to produce different results