African development puzzle: Scaling up NGOs contribution in West Africa

Abstract

Community development is seen as a fundamental responsibility of every individual in a society to help in the development of his/her community. Sometimes this development is brought upon by a voluntary individual or group of individuals through Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The NGOs are broadly known for their positive influence on community development. In spite of this, there are diverging views on whether NGOs are for community development or personal development. It is in this context that this paper attempts to discuss and critically evaluate the activities of NGO in West Africa sub-region: their services and contribution in solving developmental challenges of West Africa, the key sectors of the subregion with NGO participation, NGOs success rate in tackling the developmental issues and the state of the sector of intervention. The study also presents the challenges faced by NGOs, the various criticisms made against NGOs and appropriate recommendations on how to scale up NGO impact in achieving sustainable development of West Africa.