Charitable work in a developing region: why humanitarian work is mostly in the hands of foreign organizations in Africa

Abstract

Humanitarian work in Africa is mostly in the hands of foreign humanitarian actors. This paper looks at a number of factors contributing towards this situation and possible ways that Africa as a developing continent can use to avert this situation. Most humanitarian organizations are linked to the West, particularly the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Denmark, Germany and Norway. Humanitarian organizations are organizations that offer humanitarian aid in humanitarian crises and they can be intergovernmental organizations or international private and voluntary organizations. In most humanitarian situations in Africa, Western humanitarian bodies are more active. The United Nations, as an inter-governmental body, is also responsive to Africa’s humanitarian crises with its subsidiary bodies like UNICEF, UNDP, WHO and FAO. The existence of foreign humanitarian organizations in Africa’s humanitarian industry indicates the existence of various gaps and weaknesses in the social, economic and political fabrics of Africa. Therefore, this paper discusses the main reasons why the African humanitarian industry is in foreign hands and provides recommendations on the way forward for the developing continent.

Keywords: humanitarian work, foreign organizations, underdevelopment, dependency