Diminishing Impact of Foreign Aid, Grants and Loans on the Endemic, That Is Hunger and Poverty in Africa: Focus on Kenya

Africa's main ailment is hunger and poverty. This has been given much attention, by the African people and the International community in pursuit of its end. Hunger and poverty in Africa is on a fast increase. The main causes of hunger in Africa are; natural causes like drought, floods, famine and diseases that attack livestock and crops. This is why the poverty reduction strategies have mainly focused on venues to increase crop production like irrigation, fertilization and subsistence farming without putting deeper thought on underlying causes like conflict, corruption and impunity. This is not saying that the initiatives in place have not registered positive results but the results are slower than needed. Peace initiatives, like conflict management and peacebuilding, have also overlooked the underlying causes for the numerous conflicts in Africa which are also a major cause of hunger and poverty. Furthermore, corruption which is recurrent and a major obstacle in Africa's development, has not been dealt with accordingly and this has led to impunity in a majority of African states. Funds have been misappropriated and the same would have been utilized to supply a means to end hunger and poverty, and sadly the situation still continues. This accounts for why poverty reduction initiatives are failing. This study set out to investigate the diminishing impact of foreign aid, grants and loans in Kenya on the endemic that is hunger and poverty. Hunger and poverty is on an increase more so than the level it is meant to diminish and this raises the question, how much impact has foreign aid, loans and grants really had on reducing the endemic. The study heavily relies on secondary data and a bit of primary data particularly interviews and hence, a qualitative analysis. The study challenges actors, policy makers, governments and international community to re-analyze foreign aid, grants and loans in the context of the diminishing impact on the increasing poverty and hunger if sustainable food and welfare provision is to be maintained in Kenya. The study aims at enriching the literature on diminishing, almost negative impact of aid, loans and grants with specific objective of bringing forth the negative factors that have led to increased hunger and poverty. It is envisaged that the findings of the study will be useful to policy developers, governments and other actors in the field of poverty reduction and development goals in Africa and Kenya in particular.