11.5.1—International aid

International aid is a voluntary transfer of resources from one country or organisation to another for humanitarian relief, development, debt support or specific projects. It can be grants, concessional loans, technical help or in-kind support.

Aid may fund health, education, infrastructure or emergency needs, but tied conditions, leakage, weak institutions, dependency, donor priorities and poor project fit can reduce benefits. Evaluate the counterfactual and local capacity.

A reliable water project can reduce disease and free time for schooling; a donor-designed facility without maintenance funding may become unusable after the project ends.

Aid is not automatically charity that creates development, and loans are not the same as grants—the repayment terms matter.