Background paper
This background paper provides a comparative overview of development aid flows to Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia between 2012 and 2021, examining both traditional donors reporting to the OECD DAC and selected non-traditional providers, with a specific focus on China. It analyses trends in total disbursements, donor types, financing instruments, sectoral allocations and delivery channels, and highlights how aid is distributed across key social and infrastructure sectors in the three countries. The paper also explores differences in sectoral priorities and financing patterns between DAC and non-DAC donors, and discusses the implications for development financing and debt sustainability in the region.
The paper is a precursor to three country papers – on Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya – that zoom into aid funding to specific sectors in each country and analyse whether aid is contributing to country development outcomes. The countries were chosen on the basis of project location and aside from Kenya, are all currently classed as least developed countries (LDCs).
