Ethnicity has also exacerbated other divisions in Africa between landed and landless, farmers and herders, the haves and have-nots. The competition among regions or religions and the collapse of authoritarian structures also open the way for ethnic conflict. In addition to these, internal problems, financial resource flows into the region are stagnating in real terms, debt-relief measures have been inadequate and there has been no attempt to improve the region's external trade environment. Former Soviet Union which was once a looming military presence in the Horn of Africa and patron of the leftist regimes from Ethiopia to Mozambique, has withdrawn from the Continent. Furthermore, among the industrialized nations, the US ranks last in the percentage of Gross National Product devoted to African aid in recent years.
Japanese investment is minimal.
Britain, Belgium and Portugal mostly disappeared from Africa when they surrendered their colonies there. Only France remains actively committed in Africa, with troops in seven countries, extensive economic and political ties and effective control of the currency of its former colonies in West Africa. A total of 16 African countries have faced some form of civil conflict in the year 1994 only and particularly the United Nations has been influential in canalizing humanitarian relief efforts to such countries. There have also been quite a few policy declarations and programs designed to assist such countries in their political and economic development efforts. Furthermore, the US has recently been trying to shift assistance from disaster relief efforts to prevention of crises before they occur.