Young Africans view recent funding cuts to US development aid as a chance for the continent to become more self-sufficient, according to a senior figure at the African Academy of Sciences (AAS).

When funding for the US Agency for International Development was dismantled earlier this year, “Africa loved it, actually, because [Africans] don’t want to be dependent”, Dr Nkem Khumbah, head of science, technology and innovation policy systems, governance and partnerships (STI-PG) at the AAS, said at Harvard University in the US on 6 May.

“Many young folks say: well, let USAid go. Why are we begging when we have resources? Let’s do our own thing,” Khumbah told the audience in a talk on Africa’s science and technology policy for the next decade.

He explained that while the cuts have “some fallout for those who are dependent” on the funding, the “majority of young folks” say it is time for Africa to do what it should have been doing for a long time anyway and wean itself off development aid.

Tapping remittances

A key challenge for the continent is generating its own funding for R&D, Khumbah said. He emphasised that this shift would require greater engagement with the private sector in a region where economies are “heavily public sector dominated”.

He also highlighted the potential of redirecting the more than US$40 billion in remittances flowing into Africa from the diaspora each year, which are currently mainly spent on individual needs, towards systemic improvements.

Remittances build houses, fund hospital visits and send students to university, Khumbah said—but they could instead improve the hospitals and universities, boosting healthcare and education for more people. This will be discussed at a meeting for diaspora scientists that the AAS plans to host in Nairobi, Kenya, next year, he added.

No more ‘band-aids’

Khumbah took aim at international donors’ top-down approach, challenging the effectiveness of projects designed without African input as mere “band-aids” that do not address fundamental issues.

“You decided here by yourself what’s good for Africa, put millions to go and do it; it never worked,” he said, pointing to decades of misalignment between donor intentions and African needs.

He called for donors to engage directly with “African leaders, the academy, Africa’s thinkers” before implementing projects. “When you’re doing something, ask the person: ‘What do you need? How can I meet you where you want to go and we go together?’”

Original article written by Linda Nordling and published in Research Professional News.