Band Aid

The absence of a government role compounds the heart-wrenching crisis in East Africa. Aid agencies, not African governments, are leading famine-relief efforts in East Africa, writes Michael Holman for the UK magazine Prospect. Drought and famine are threatening the continent’s most troubled nations, including Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan. “But this does not justify Africa’s absence from the operations room,” Holman writes. “Nor does it explain why a president or senior minister from one of the afflicted states, or a former leader, or at least a top official from the African Union, has not been chosen by peers to take responsibility for coordinating donor assistance and recipient needs.” Tens of thousands of NGOs, largely funded by the West, have gained influence in Africa; African governments are either reluctant or incapable of taking responsibility. Holman concludes, “As the state surrenders many of its core responsibilities to aid agencies, its capacity to manage deteriorates.” – YaleGlobal