Having commenced after the end of World War II, humanitarian aid has been one of the tools used by Western nations to project themselves as the good guy in global interactions. Recently, the West has been slowly moving towards developmental assistance as the criticism against humanitarian aid has been getting tougher. As the diplomatic standoff between Ethiopia and the West worsens, with aid in the middle of the engagement, it is still difficult to pinpoint the role of aid in economic growth. Also at play is the effectiveness of and bad-practice prone implementation by local actors. EBR’s Mariamawit Gezahegn delves into the matter to offer this report.