Who Pays the Price? The Global Aid Shift and Africa: A conversation with Samuel Wangwe

In a series of conversations FUF wish to highlight African perspectives on the current global changes to global cooperation and the global shift from solidarity toward national interest. In this episode FUF´s board member Lennart Wohlgemuth talks to this conversation, we meet Samuel Wangwe, a Tanzanian economist, researcher and expert on development policy with over 80 published articles in journals and edited books. Global development aid is undergoing major changes. Sweden is reducing its aid, and an increased focus on Ukraine has led Sweden to end its cooperation with several African countries. At the same time, political priorities around the globe are shifting away from solidarity and toward national interests. The world’s largest aid agency, USAID, was abruptly shut down a year ago, and by 2025, global humanitarian funding was roughly 40 percent lower than in 2022. What does this mean for Africa, and how are people and societies on the African continent affected? Does the shift toward national interest risk weakening African self-determination? Samuel Wangwe brings decades of experience studying global politics and economics, as well as a critical African perspective on how the shifts in global aid and priorities affect development on the continent. Join us for an insightful conversation on aid, governance and the future of development in Africa. Lennart Wohlgemuth, is a development cooperation expert, former director of the Nordic Africa Institute, visiting professor of African studies at the University of Gothenburg and FUF board member. The conversation will be in English.