Much of the aid given to African nations over the past 30 years has been to keep them alive rather than resolve any problems in the long term. You can't raise people out of chronic poverty if they're dead.

And, as it is, that aid has had a massive impact. In the 1980s Ethopia was ravished by droughts, famine, and a terrible civil war. Aid kept the people from dying, and 25 years on the country is now a democratic republic with one of the largest economies in East Africa that's still growing at around 7%. The country is far from 'perfect' but it's in a hell of a lot better shape today than it ever has been.