September marks more than simply a turn in the calendar. This year, it arrives at a moment when the global aid sector is in transition. U.S. funding cuts have been swift and deep, leaving international NGOs scrambling. Some have shed nearly half their staff. Others, like Christian Aid, are closing offices and repositioning themselves not as implementers but as “catalysts, conveners, and connectors”.
“Africa should help shape a partnership model that centres government, private sector, and civil society leadership, with external partners enabling and amplifying local priorities.”
This shift is not abstract. It is reshaping how development work is designed, financed, and delivered across Africa. The aid system is facing new financial pressures and political shifts, creating both challenges and opportunities. What comes next is still uncertain, but one truth is clear: the future of aid must be more rooted in local systems if it is to endure.
Beyond big aid
The “Big Aid” era, when massive U.S. or European grants sustained sprawling NGO bureaucracies, is giving way to something new. According to Devex, eighteen of the fifty largest U.S.-based INGOs rely on government grants for more than half their income, much of it from Washington. With tens of billions suddenly withdrawn, their vulnerability has been exposed.
But this is not only a funding challenge. It is also a moment to reflect on effectiveness, to ask how solutions can be better aligned with local realities. As INGOs downsize and restructure, the sector must work together to answer a critical question: how do we ensure that the momentum for impact is not lost but strengthened in this transition?
The power of local systems
The answer lies where it always should have: with local systems, local leaders, and local institutions. When Christian Aid announced its restructuring, it not only closed offices; it also established five regional hubs to channel resources directly to local partners. This is more than operational efficiency. It is an acknowledgement that resilience cannot be outsourced.
We’re seeing similar patterns across the region. In Mozambique, funding reductions have strained youth health services, yet local organisations continue to hold the line. In Nigeria, community groups are helping sustain health and education efforts as external funding tightens. The lesson is consistent: durability grows when local systems are designed, financed, and supported to lead. For example, through partnerships with state health ministries and local partners, eHealth Africa is strengthening disease surveillance and digital health systems, including digitising facility inventories and reporting so decisions are faster, supply chains are more reliable, and accountability is anchored locally.
Collaboration over competition
The current crisis is also encouraging greater collaboration among INGOs. Save the Children, Mercy Corps, and CARE are pooling disaster response capacity, a move that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. Although there are valid concerns about whether mergers of distressed organisations create strength, the principle is sound; partnership beats duplication.
Africa should help shape a partnership model that centres government, private sector, and civil society leadership, with external partners enabling and amplifying local priorities. Localisation must move from principle to practice through shared decision-making, transparent resource flows, and jointly held accountability.
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What this means for Africa
Later this month, world leaders will gather in New York for the UN General Assembly and Climate Week. No doubt, debates about the future of aid will dominate those discussions. But Africa does not need to wait for global consensus. We have the opportunity to set our own agenda and contribute proactively to shaping the conversation.
That means three things:
Investing in domestic financing: If more than half of a country’s health budget depends on foreign aid, progress will always be fragile. Governments must expand fiscal space for health and education through innovative taxes, public-private partnerships, and better governance of existing resources.
Strengthening local institutions: Local NGOs and social enterprises often lack the compliance and reporting structures demanded by donors. Building their institutional muscle is as critical as funding the programmes themselves. Capacity is not a luxury; it is the foundation of sustainability.
Refining accountability: In addition to donor and statutory requirements, we should deepen accountability to the communities we serve. Africa’s next chapter can rebalance this by co-defining outcomes with communities and publishing results locally, so people can see and shape whether interventions meet their needs.
The leadership test
The old aid model may be fading, but a vacuum is not a strategy. This moment demands bold leadership from African governments, private sector champions, and civil society actors. It also calls for humility from INGOs and donors: to listen more, dictate less, and embrace roles that may look different from the past.
We should treat this transition not as a stopgap but as an opportunity to strengthen and scale locally grounded systems that endure.
The test of leadership now is not who can announce the biggest pledge or launch the flashiest programme. It is those who can build structures that will still stand ten years from now, when today’s headlines have faded.
A call to reflection
As we begin September, I’m focused on one question: how do we design partnerships and institutions that endure, beyond personalities, projects, and funding cycles, so communities continue to thrive over time?
For Africa, the answer cannot come from outside. It must come from within. The aid system may be under strain, but that does not mean progress has to stall. If anything, it is a reminder that our greatest asset has always been our people, our resilience, and our ability to build together.
The future of aid is local. The opportunity before us is to ensure that Africa leads the way.
Ota Akhigbe is the Director of Partnerships and Programmes at eHealth Africa, a columnist, and a global partnerships leader recognised among Africa’s 100 Most Influential Career Women. She writes weekly for BusinessDay on systems, strategy, and the future of development. Her work focuses on building resilient partnerships and empowering local leadership for sustainable impact.
