Apr 11, 2018In 1969, when UNDP was established in its current form, the world was a different place from the one we see today. It was one dominated by two superpowers, with many countries in Africa and Asia slowly emerging from colonialism to take charge of their own destinies after decades or centuries of external rule. The global aid system evolved in this context, one in which richer countries of the Global North extended grants, loans, goods and expertise to poorer countries of the Global South.