Official Development Assistance and Sustainable Development in Africa: towards a New Strategy

Since the end of the Second World War, official development assistance (ODA) has played important part in the process of development and the alleviation of poverty in many developing countries, including those in Africa. The rationale for ODA to developing countries was encapsulated in several theories, notably the donor-oriented theory or international relations theory and supplemental theories of foreign aid. At the Earth Summit of 1992, it was noted that the implementation of Agenda 21 would entail huge sums of money that could, in the short run, be out of the reach of many developing countries given their weak economic conditions. Thus, in the spirit of international partnership for development, the international community acquiesced on the need for increased ODA flows to developing countries, most of which are in Africa.