Matteo Caravani publishes on failing aid in Uganda
Every year about thirty billion dollars are spent on aid across Africa, yet high levels of poverty, hunger, and destitution persist.
The phenomenon of failing aid in Africa has been widely debated, with scholars emphasizing how local elites and governments exploit aid, leading to dependency and corruption.
Critical literature also highlights the lack of accountability in international aid organizations and the promotion of inequality.
Uganda’s Karamoja region has become an exemplary case of a chronic international aid recipient suffering from protracted crises.
In a paper published in The European Journal of Development Research, Matteo Caravani examines why aid programs in Karamoja are doomed to fail due to an enduring agrarian crisis, perpetuated by government actions and international aid mechanisms.
Drawing on ten years of research, the study illustrates the complex and exploitative relationships within the aid system that sustain the “failing aid complex,” ultimately failing to uplift the majority of aid recipients from poverty.