Humanitarian aid in Africa is running out. It’s difficult, but I think there’s an opportunity to make something better
For decades, global development scripts have been predictable. African countries face a crisis, with aid flowing from the West to respond. But today, funds are running out. And, along with that, the illusion that this model has been sustainable to date.
As US foreign aid agreements and donor priorities change in the UK and elsewhere, African nonprofits are navigating quiet calculations. This week, UN agencies announced that they would cut food aid to millions of refugees as funds collapse. It is not an isolated event. It is a tragic symptom of a global hideout and a warning shot for all of us who have long been dependent on international solidarity to combat poverty, hunger and inequality.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently declared that “we are not the government of the world,” indicating that the United States is no longer responsible for most of global humanitarian aid. It may work politically in Washington, but in places like Kenya it lands as an inevitable check of reality.
As global aid retreats, African ingenuity must move forward, so it is time to focus on what we can reduce our losses and build ourselves.
The spirit of local ownership lies at the heart of Food4Education, an organization founded in Kenya to tackle classroom hunger. Today, we feed 500,000 public school children every day for just $0.30 per meal. Our fundraising model is simple, with government co-investment, parental contributions and charity capital working together to power clean energy kitchens, employ more than 4,400 people and raise 80% of food from smallholder farmers.
This is not a charity.It’s an infrastructure. And it’s already working.
But the job of nonprofit CEOs in Africa like me is not because they lack solutions, but because the language they use to describe their goals is getting more and more ignited. There is repulsion in words like thisimpartial,justiceand moreIncluded. These terms are labelled as political, divisive, or ideological fluff in a particular fundraising circle.
But we don’t have the luxury of discussing vocabulary. I’m too busy doing real work.
When 600 million African children face irreversible developmental losses due to hunger, equity is neither a concept nor a slogan. It’s the kitchen. It’s a lunch bowl. That’s the difference between hungry and ready children.
We understand that the government is re-adjusting its priorities. And they should – choices come with leadership. But what we need now is not retreat. It’s a reinvention. If you want sustainable progress, the aid conversation needs to move from how much you are given to who is trusted to lead.
African leaders are not waiting. We design, implement and scale solutions that are already embedded in our communities and economies.
In F4E, we have seen that when local governments commit to school feeding, it means real kitchens, real budgets, real policy changes. That means instead of children relying on NGOs that could leave tomorrow, they can rely on something stronger: public commitment to their rights to food and education. It’s the kind of system we need to see across Africa.
Ultimately, what you need is a partner, not a patron. Capital that is patient and trusts local infrastructure. A funding model that does not expire during the election cycle.
This moment is devouring it and rethinking the architecture of global support not as a rescue effort, but as a shared investment in dignity, sustainable growth and resilience.
That’s what we do every day in Kenya. We are building a new system from scratch. And with the right partner, we can do it all across the continent.
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read more:
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This story was originally introduced Fortune.com