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2.4.1. Where does all the money go?
According to Sachs, not a lot of money actually even makes it to Africa. As a UN economist, he has access to a multitude of facts, figures, and techniques for analyzing world ODA expenditures. Here are his findings:
Contrary to popular perception, the amount of aid per African per year is really very small, just $30 per sub-Saharan African in 2002 from the entire world. Of that modest amount, almost $5 was actually for consultants from the donor countries, more than $3 was for food and other emergency aid, another $4 went to servicing African's debts, and $5 was for debt relief operations. The rest, $12, went to Africa. Is it really a surprise that we do not see many traces of that aid on the ground? (Sachs, 2005, p. 310)
US aid alone, after all the above payments are factored in, comes to a mere six cents per African. (Sachs, 2005, p. 310) This kingly amount has hardly any effect at all.
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