Spotlight on Africa: Is the future of aid at risk and ready for change?

People hold placards, as the USAID building sits closed to employees after a memo was issued advising agency personnel to work remotely, in Washington, D.C., U.S.A, on 3 February 2025. REUTERS - Kent Nishimura

This week, Spotlight on Africa explores critical questions about the future of aid, featuring a humanitarian worker, a columnist, and an analyst, each from different parts of Africa. As the United States and Europe prioritise funding for arms and domestic affairs, we ask whether the current aid model can endure, if it must evolve, and how that change might take shape.

Since the start of the year, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, has moved to drastically cut the country’s long-term aid commitments, aiming to save approximately $60 billion on overseas development and humanitarian assistance programmes.