American Aid to Africa

Africa's economic development is complicated by cultural, political, and security problems. There is a widely contrasting development potential among African countries, re sulting both from an uneven distribution of natural resources and different degrees of development of social and economic infrastructure. The volume of economic aid to Africa from all countries is high but varies greatly from country to country. United States aid, which expanded sharply following 1960, is closely related to the combinations of such circumstances in particular countries. It has been heavily concentrated on in stitution building and social and economic infrastructure, in keeping with the development plans and emphasis of African governments. The ability to absorb external assistance in terms of indigenous, managerial, and technical competences and in terms of the institutional structure required for effec tive utilization of aid has not kept pace with aspirations and expectations of development. As a consequence, some African countries may be near or beyond the limit of their ability to support existing or planned infrastructure from current or an ticipated income. The situation in such countries may be pointing toward the need for emphasis on increasing income through expansion of domestic market and a reconsideration of both amount and type of infrastructure which has been tra ditionally believed to be required.