Can Africa Be Saved by Private Aid?

Some programs funded by philanthropists seem to be working. Pop star Bono wants rich countries to do more

By Marc Hujer

Private investors want to prove that development aid for Africa is money well invested. Wealthy philanthropists from around the world are funding more and more programs on the continent. And some of them seem to be working.

The real reason Bono was in Berlin was to talk about Africa -- about hunger, misery, AIDS and tuberculosis. But before the interview began, he started to sing: "It's one for the money / two for the show."

He was sitting at a table in a swanky Berlin restaurant, dressed in a black shirt, a black sports jacket, a black tie, and wearing his trademark wraparound orange sunglasses -- the eyewear that transforms this small man in crepe-soled shoes into the lead singer of U2.

He has earned millions of dollars with this voice -- Bono has a knack for singing the right song at the right time. He wanted to know if the recorder on the table in front of him was working. Then the show could begin.

He had just visited the chancellery where he had spoken with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. About Africa -- about hunger, misery, AIDS, and tuberculosis. It's always the same subject. His subject. Indeed, he is constantly on the road to drum up support for Africa. He has met with former US Ppresident Bill Clinton, with Microsoft boss Bill Gates, with current US President George W. Bush, even with the pope. Now it's Angela Merkel's turn.

The 0.7 Percent Benchmark

Bono wants the rich countries of the world to make good on their pledge to give 0.7 percent of their GNP as development aid to the poorest of the poor. None of the large industrialized nations has come even close to donating this amount. Today, only countries like Sweden, the Netherlands and Luxembourg have already reached the 0.7 percent benchmark.

Chancellor Merkel is chairing this year's G-8 summit in Heiligendamm, and Bono wants to convince her that she should act as a role model for the other leading industrialized nations and spend more money on Africa. It was undoubtedly not an easy discussion, given the many reservations about development aid. The industrialized nations have been providing aid for 50 years now. During that period, $2.3 trillion has been distributed to the world's poorest countries, but hunger and poverty persist.

Some analysts become infuriated when they hear the term development aid. They argue that aid has made Africa dependent on handouts, and stifled all initiative. William Easterly, a leading authority on development economics, says that development aid has been a "tragedy" -- that it has actually hurt Africa.

There appear to be no easy answers to Africa's chronic underdevelopment. In the first two decades following independence, Africa's fledgling nations saw themselves as the driving force behind their own development -- with miserable results. By the mid-1980s, many were poorer than when they had gained independence. A large number of governments could not even provide basic services. Roads and railway networks were crumbling, hospitals and universities had to close for lack of funds. Those who wanted to make something of their lives tried their luck in Europe or the US, while back home only the black market could guarantee survival.

Then bankers from the West turned their attention to the failed continent. In exchange for promises of political reform, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund granted loan after loan. But Africa's political leaders were more concerned with maintaining their grip on power than with fueling economic growth, with a few exceptions like Ghana's Jerry Rawlings. By the end of the 20th century, African countries had accumulated massive debts.

Bono's New Germany

Now celebrities like Bono and a new generation of aid workers want to prove that aid can produce results -- as long as it is backed up by the right concepts and strictly monitored. They want to dispel all doubt about the effectiveness of aid, and create a new sense that things are really moving forward in Africa. And Bono has become the continent's unofficial top lobbyist.