Non-governmental organizations in Africa differ in ways they undertake their community projects. Loads of hiccups stand between NGOs aiming at bettering the lives of African dwellers. According to the World Bank estimates, approximately 41% of the Sub-Saharan population lived in extreme poverty in 2017. In the Democratic Republic of Congo Alone, over 7.7 million people faced intense hunger in the same year, as stated by the UNHCR. Below are six challenges facing Non-government organizations in Africa.
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Politicizing of Non-governmental Organizations
NGOs should work jointly without political involvement. However, there is a click of African governments that politicize NGOs’ work. Soon after formation, some organizations become political platforms and end up supporting individual candidates for financial benefits.
Sometimes, you are likely to find NGOs working in the same kind of projects but are unwilling to partner. This is a shame and moral bankruptcy to African communities since the chances of conflicts blowing up are often high.
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The unwillingness of Cooperates to work with NGOs
Although international donors pump more than $50 billion yearly into Africa, countries still need vast financial support. This is because tons of Africa cooperation shy away from working with NGOs or offering assistance. Nonetheless, while everyone talks of the need for governments to set mechanisms to ensure NGOs get funds, very minimal implementations take place. It may sound bias, but most NGOs create their foundation without much support from Africa cooperates or governments.
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Lack of Work experience in some Non-governmental Organizations’ employees
Lack of professionalism is a significant concern to young NGOs. Some employees in most new NGOs are often amateurs and don’t have experience and aptitude in working in hostile terrains. It leads to poor planning as well as coordination of activities, or in the worse scenarios, loss of funds. On the same breath, it results in the involvement of projects that can cause rivalry between NGOs and African government institutions.
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Lack of Commitment and Enthusiasm
Most NGOs die soon after their formation. Some members of these organizations drift out to pursue personal interests or in search of greener pastures. On the other end of the spectrum, some volunteers don’t enjoy to help in NGOs’ endeavors. They often abandon projects midway. What most people don’t know is working in NGOs can lay a good foundation for someone’s portfolio.
On the flips side, though, lack of enthusiasm and commitment cannot entirely be blamed on the workers. NGO leaders also contribute. For instance, if volunteers don’t get appreciations, their sense of belonging in an NGO dwindles, and may they eventually give up.
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Poor Public Relation Management
Organizing events in different countries in Africa is a huge hassle most NGOs face. A significant number of NGOs don’t formulate strategies or allocate resources to advertise or spread about their existence and events.
Notably, people who receive information about an event through media such as newspapers are often from the older generation. On the other hand, audiences who receive the same information through social media are numerous. Events that don’t amass mentions on social media are arguably insignificant. NGOs ought to improve their outreach strategies to succeed.
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Intimidation
Security threats and attacks are enormous obstacles for NGOs operating in bandits-invested areas. A significant of African societies misinterpret volunteers and don’t offer the needful support. It often happens that NGO camps get attacked, and equipment and humanitarian donations get stolen. In some instances, some rogue administrations intimidate volunteers and kick them out of the communities in need of support.
Considering the above pointers, NGOs’ staff should be professionals in their respective fields. Before starting operations, long-term planning ought to be of priority to avert making losses. Leaders of NGOs should keenly interview volunteers and assess their commitment. Proper security measures should be kept in place to secure the NGOs’ assets and lives of workers. Ultimately, Africa governments ought to support NGOs without politicizing their operations.
