The administration in response has trumpeted its Millennium Challenge Account, which ties assistance to embracing democracy and the open market.
But although the effort was launched three years ago, only one African country, Madagascar, has gotten any money.
Bush and other US conservatives insist that while poor nations may need aid, they must first of all establish efficient and corruption-free institutions to ensure that funds from overseas are well-used.
"There is unfortunately not sufficient attention paid to the conditions in which development is delivered," US Treasury Secretary John Snow argued last week.
"Money alone is not the answer."
The US position was later echoed in a just-released research paper from the International Monetary Fund.
"Despite the political momentum in favor of massive aid inflows in the near term, we should not lose sight of issues like how much aid can be handled to begin with, how the aid should be delivered, and when," the study cautioned.
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