Amidst the multifaceted challenges faced by the African continent, several entities stand out as stalwarts of support and friendship. This article looks at the profile of some organisation that have made significant contributions and pivotal roles to extend partinent aid and cooperation to Africa. From combatting health crises to addressing poverty, these leading entities have left a footprint of friendship on the landscape of African development. As we navigate through their endeavours, it becomes evident how their actions have propelled progress and transformation across the region.
- The World Health Organisation (WHO)
Global public health is the purview of the United Nations’ World Health Organisation (WHO), a specialised agency. Its headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland, and it has 150 field offices worldwide and six regional offices. The official mission of the World Health Organisation is to support global health and safety while aiding the weak. It establishes worldwide health standards, gathers information on global health concerns, offers technical support to nations, and facilitates debates on health-related science and policy. The World Health Report, its official publication, evaluates global health issues. Several significant advancements in public health have been made possible thanks mainly to the WHO, including the creation of an Ebola vaccine, the near-eradication of polio, and the eradication of smallpox.
Priorities at the moment include:
- Non-communicable illnesses like cancer and heart disease.
- Occupational health.
- Substance misuse.
- A healthy diet, nutrition, and food security.
- Infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, Ebola, malaria, and tuberculosis.
The organisation supports encouraging health and well-being in general, organising responses to medical emergencies, monitoring public health threats, and providing universal access to health care.
- United Nations
The United Nations (UN), an intergovernmental organisation, aims to uphold global peace and security, foster goodwill among states, promote international collaboration, and operate as a hub for coordinating national policies. It is the most prominent multinational organisation in the world. The UN has offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna, and The Hague, home to the International Court of Justice. Its headquarters are in New York City, located in the United States, but it enjoys certain extraterritorial powers.
The UN’s charter outlines its goals, which include preserving world peace and security, defending international law, supplying humanitarian relief, defending human rights, and encouraging sustainable development. The UN now has 193 member nations, or nearly all of the sovereign states in the world, as of 2023, down from 51 at its founding.
- African Union
The African Organisation (AU) is a continental organisation comprising fifty-five African member states. The Sirte Declaration called for the African Union and was made public on September 9, 1999, in Sirte, Libya. The bloc was established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on May 26, 2001, and debuted in Durban, South Africa, on July 9, 2002. The Organization of African Unity (OAU), founded on May 25, 1963, in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments, was to be replaced by the AU. The OAU was dissolved on July 9, 2002. The Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual gathering of the heads of state and government of its member nations, makes the majority of the organisation’s decisions.
- Red Cross
Over 16 million volunteers are staff members of the International Red Cross. It was established to safeguard human life and health, to uphold respect for all people, and to stop and lessen suffering among people. It consists of three separate organisations legally separate from one another but bound together by the movement’s shared fundamental beliefs, goals, emblems, bylaws, and governing bodies.
- Action Aid
The principal goal of the international non-governmental organisation ActionAid is to combat poverty and injustice on a global scale. ActionAid is a network of 45 national offices that works on various development concerns with communities, frequently through local partner organizations. The charity, formerly Action in Distress, was established in 1972 by Cecil Jackson-Cole as a child sponsorship program. The programme’s primary goals are to educate children, advance human rights for all, aid the impoverished, support those who experience discrimination, and support those who are victims of injustice. To help those people, ActionAid works with nearly 15 million people in 45 countries.
- World Bank
The World Bank is a global financial organisation that helps governments in low- and middle-income nations pursue capital projects by lending money and providing grants. The International Development Association (IDA) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), two of the five global institutions under the ownership of the World Bank Group, are collectively referred to as the World Bank. At the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, it was founded with the International Monetary Fund. Its first loan was to France in 1947, following a sluggish start. Its purpose shifted in the 1980s from lending to developing nations to developing nations in the 1970s. Its loan portfolio has included NGOs and environmental groups over the past thirty years. Ecological and social safeguards and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations inform its lending approach.
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Its purpose shifted in the 1980s from lending to developing nations to developing nations in the 1970s. Its loan portfolio has included NGOs and environmental groups over the past thirty years. Ecological and social safeguards and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations inform its lending approach. These days, it’s crucial to handle problems with the balance of payments and global financial crises. Countries contribute money to a pool through quota systems, from which they can borrow money if they run into balance payment issues. The fund held SDR 477 billion (about US$667 billion) as of 2016.
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
UNICEF is a United Nations organisation tasked with giving humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. Originally known as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund in total, it is now officially known as the United Nations Children’s Fund. With operations in 192 nations and territories, the organisation is one of the most well-known and widely distributed social welfare organisations globally. In addition to delivering vaccines and disease prevention, UNICEF treats women and children living with HIV, improves maternal and child nutrition, promotes education, improves sanitation, and offers emergency relief during a disaster.
- World Food Programme (WFP)
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), an intergovernmental agency, distributes food aid globally. It is the most prominent humanitarian organisation in the world and the leading supplier of school lunches. WFP was established in 1961 and is based in Rome, with offices throughout 80 nations. It assisted over 128 million individuals in over 120 countries and territories as of 2021. Apart from providing emergency food aid, WFP provides technical and development support for enhancing emergency planning and response capabilities, handling supply chains and logistics, advocating for social safety initiatives, and fortifying resilience against climate change. In addition, it offers passenger services for aid workers and is a significant supplier of medical supplies and direct financial help.
- African Development Bank (AfDB)
Since September 2014, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, has served as the headquarters of the international development finance organisation known as the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or Banque Africaine de Développement (BAD). African governments and private businesses that invest in the regional member nations (RMC) can get funding from the AfDB. The Organisation of African Unity, the African Union’s forerunner, established the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 1964. The Nigeria Trust Fund, the African Development Fund, and the African Development Bank are the three organisations that make up the AfDB.
To date, the African continent has advanced and improved the welfare of its people thanks to these organisations.
Story By,
Meresia Aloo,
The East Africa Correspondent, African Leadership Magazine.
Article Form: Long Form
10 Highest Aid Giving Bodies to Africa
Despite its difficulties, nations and international organisations assist the African continent. As a result, we highlight a few organisations providing aid to Africa and their importance to the region. Among them are:
- The World Health Organisation (WHO)
Global public health is the purview of the United Nations’ World Health Organisation (WHO), a specialised agency. Its headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland, and it has 150 field offices worldwide and six regional offices. The official mission of the World Health Organisation is to support global health and safety while aiding the weak. It establishes worldwide health standards, gathers information on global health concerns, offers technical support to nations, and facilitates debates on health-related science and policy. The World Health Report, its official publication, evaluates global health issues. Several significant advancements in public health have been made possible thanks mainly to the WHO, including the creation of an Ebola vaccine, the near-eradication of polio, and the eradication of smallpox.
Priorities at the moment include:
- Non-communicable illnesses like cancer and heart disease.
- Occupational health.
- Substance misuse.
- A healthy diet, nutrition, and food security.
- Infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, Ebola, malaria, and tuberculosis.
The organisation supports encouraging health and well-being in general, organising responses to medical emergencies, monitoring public health threats, and providing universal access to health care.
- United Nations
The United Nations (UN), an intergovernmental organisation, aims to uphold global peace and security, foster goodwill among states, promote international collaboration, and operate as a hub for coordinating national policies. It is the most prominent multinational organisation in the world. The UN has offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna, and The Hague, home to the International Court of Justice. Its headquarters are in New York City, located in the United States, but it enjoys certain extraterritorial powers.
The UN’s charter outlines its goals, which include preserving world peace and security, defending international law, supplying humanitarian relief, defending human rights, and encouraging sustainable development. The UN now has 193 member nations, or nearly all of the sovereign states in the world, as of 2023, down from 51 at its founding.
- African Union
The African Organisation (AU) is a continental organisation comprising fifty-five African member states. The Sirte Declaration called for the African Union and was made public on September 9, 1999, in Sirte, Libya. The bloc was established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on May 26, 2001, and debuted in Durban, South Africa, on July 9, 2002. The Organization of African Unity (OAU), founded on May 25, 1963, in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments, was to be replaced by the AU. The OAU was dissolved on July 9, 2002. The Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual gathering of the heads of state and government of its member nations, makes the majority of the organisation’s decisions.
- Red Cross
Over 16 million volunteers are staff members of the International Red Cross. It was established to safeguard human life and health, to uphold respect for all people, and to stop and lessen suffering among people. It consists of three separate organisations legally separate from one another but bound together by the movement’s shared fundamental beliefs, goals, emblems, bylaws, and governing bodies.
- Action Aid
The principal goal of the international non-governmental organisation ActionAid is to combat poverty and injustice on a global scale. ActionAid is a network of 45 national offices that works on various development concerns with communities, frequently through local partner organizations. The charity, formerly Action in Distress, was established in 1972 by Cecil Jackson-Cole as a child sponsorship program. The programme’s primary goals are to educate children, advance human rights for all, aid the impoverished, support those who experience discrimination, and support those who are victims of injustice. To help those people, ActionAid works with nearly 15 million people in 45 countries.
- World Bank
The World Bank is a global financial organisation that helps governments in low- and middle-income nations pursue capital projects by lending money and providing grants. The International Development Association (IDA) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), two of the five global institutions under the ownership of the World Bank Group, are collectively referred to as the World Bank. At the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, it was founded with the International Monetary Fund. Its first loan was to France in 1947, following a sluggish start. Its purpose shifted in the 1980s from lending to developing nations to developing nations in the 1970s. Its loan portfolio has included NGOs and environmental groups over the past thirty years. Ecological and social safeguards and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations inform its lending approach.
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Its purpose shifted in the 1980s from lending to developing nations to developing nations in the 1970s. Its loan portfolio has included NGOs and environmental groups over the past thirty years. Ecological and social safeguards and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations inform its lending approach. These days, it’s crucial to handle problems with the balance of payments and global financial crises. Countries contribute money to a pool through quota systems, from which they can borrow money if they run into balance payment issues. The fund held SDR 477 billion (about US$667 billion) as of 2016.
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
UNICEF is a United Nations organisation tasked with giving humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. Originally known as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund in total, it is now officially known as the United Nations Children’s Fund. With operations in 192 nations and territories, the organisation is one of the most well-known and widely distributed social welfare organisations globally. In addition to delivering vaccines and disease prevention, UNICEF treats women and children living with HIV, improves maternal and child nutrition, promotes education, improves sanitation, and offers emergency relief during a disaster.
- World Food Programme (WFP)
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), an intergovernmental agency, distributes food aid globally. It is the most prominent humanitarian organisation in the world and the leading supplier of school lunches. WFP was established in 1961 and is based in Rome, with offices throughout 80 nations. It assisted over 128 million individuals in over 120 countries and territories as of 2021. Apart from providing emergency food aid, WFP provides technical and development support for enhancing emergency planning and response capabilities, handling supply chains and logistics, advocating for social safety initiatives, and fortifying resilience against climate change. In addition, it offers passenger services for aid workers and is a significant supplier of medical supplies and direct financial help.
- African Development Bank (AfDB)
Since September 2014, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, has served as the headquarters of the international development finance organisation known as the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or Banque Africaine de Développement (BAD). African governments and private businesses that invest in the regional member nations (RMC) can get funding from the AfDB. The Organisation of African Unity, the African Union’s forerunner, established the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 1964. The Nigeria Trust Fund, the African Development Fund, and the African Development Bank are the three organisations that make up the AfDB.
In the tapestry of global aid and support, these entities have emerged as good friends of progress for the African continent. Their relentless efforts have not only addressed immediate challenges but have also laid the groundwork for sustainable development and growth. As we acknowledge their invaluable contributions, it is imperative to recognise that the journey towards a brighter future for Africa is ongoing. The collaborative efforts and commitments of these organisations serve as an inspiration, highlighting the power of solidarity and collective action in shaping a better tomorrow for all nations.
