Earlier this month, Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo argued that Africa needs Western countries to cut long term aid that has brought dependency, distorted economies and fuelled bureaucracy and corruption. The comments on the blog posting suggested that many readers agreed. In a response, Savio Carvalho, Uganda country director for aid agency Oxfam GB, says that aid can help the continent escape poverty - if done in the right way:
In early January, I travelled to war-ravaged northern Uganda to a dusty village in Pobura and Kal parish in Kitgum District. We were there to see the completion of a 16km dirt road constructed by the community with support from Oxfam under an EU-funded programme.
The road is bringing benefits in the form of access to markets, education and health care. Some parents say their daughters feel safer walking to school on the road instead of through the bushes. Many families have used the wages earned from construction work to pay for school fees and medical treatment. This is the impact of aid.
Having lived and worked in east Africa, I have witnessed the positive effects of aid. But done badly, it can be very limiting and even has the potential to create more harm. To avoid this, it must be provided within an enabling environment in which it is used as a catalyst for change and not as an end in itself. Governments must show leadership through an accountable system.
For individuals, access to resources – including aid - is like an investment. Aid can build up poor people’s assets, support good governance and enhance skills and capacities to bring about transformation. But it can become a bane when it makes communities dependent, lazy and hopeless. Governments, aid agencies and the United Nations need to ensure the delivery of aid is well planned and coordinated, leading to higher self-reliance among poor communities.
Aid is also beneficial when trade is fair. There are several examples in Africa, like the case of coffee farmers in Uganda, where aid has been used effectively to improve the overall quality of the coffee seeds, thereby giving farmers better prices for their produce. When they have access to markets at home and abroad, they generate income which is ploughed back into increased output, better access to health and education, and overall improvement in the quality of their lives. To make this happen, developed countries need to stop procrastinating and put in place fair trade practices.
Aid works well if governments are accountable – in other words, when they are responsible and encourage active citizenship. On this continent, civil society is still weak and needs to be nourished. But stopping aid will not resolve frustrations about poor governance, which is partly a result of weak public scrutiny. Aid should be used to help fight corruption and promote accountability through active input from ordinary people.
As I have argued here, receiving aid is not just an act of charity. It should be understood as the right of poor communities to a life of dignity. As stated in international conventions, people have a right to good health, food, water and education. We all need to ensure the planet’s resources are equitably distributed. As Mahatma Gandhi said, you must be the change you want to see in the world.
So what do you think? Which argument is most convincing?
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As long as news reporting out Africa does not need to live up to standards of accuracy, it will be very hard for people in the developed world to understand the continent and its real needs. A documentary like The Famine Scam makes you wonder how inaccurate African news headlines are allowed to become. Yet it shows examples of both good and bad aid at the same time:
- Posted by piet van dorenhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4SYM8JsD g4
It strikes me that many people in the most prosperous countries have underlying guilt in them, knowing that huge swathes of the world population struggle day to day partly because of the shortcomings of their own leaders and partly because the world system is skewed in favour of the ‘guilty’ rich.
- Posted by pipNon-emergency aid allows the rich to assuage this guilt and feel morally superior to their non-giving contemporaries without compromising their lifestyle. But in the long run it appears not always to help. If anything it can hinder, Aid needs to be wound down and places like Africa need to be given a fair opportunity to make their own way.
People in the rich west need to understand that their lifestyle is the exception, not the rule and what they might consider to be essential, just isn’t.
Like missionaries who try to convert to ensure their places at the pearly gates, there is a huge swathe of aid promoters (celebrities especially) who are doing this for themselves and their image and to soothe that guilt they feel for the lavish lives they have.
For example if i see George Clooney pontificating on Darfur on more time I will scream. Who appointed him? Every country has problems but if they are to resolve them they must do it themselves so they have ownership of the solution themselves. With his own country 11 trillion in public debt and hardly angelic in foreign relations he should close his mouth.
kudos to Michael Shaw, i agree entirely with that sentiment. The poor in rich nations are bombarded by media that tells them to donate to poorer countries to ease suffering. The methods are duplicituous and questionable. Its no shock or surprise… this has been going on for centuries. The few will always exploit the many and more advances in technology just give them more grist for the mill (so to speak). Its certainly not in the interests of the west for “developing” nations to acquire footholds on markets that they have strangleholds over…no no much better for the “west” to provide what the poorer countries need. Its a sickness… when i meet someone i dont automatically think “how can i exploit this person to better my own ends” unfortunately far too many do but they do it via “legitimate” industries….after all its only business, its nothing personal.
- Posted by ChrisWell said and precisely outlined! Also, what a great reseach, Mr. Staff of Reuters. I don’t mean this to be impolite because I have search for your name, and I didn’t find any under or above the article.
- Posted by Mr. SheriffAs mentioned above, your article is wonderful. I hope all Africans could embark upon such trip in order to see for life the reality on ground and the report accurately the problem. Yes, we need aid in Africa, and we need quickly within strategic and most-needed areas, like rural communities.
It is widely known that developmental aids have to be distributed toward programs like better education, safer and clean water systems, sufficient electricity supply within both the urban and rural areas,together with good health system.
Great research, but please try to do more research on the quality of leadership in Africa.
I strongly believe Africa needs more trade agreements and access to markets. I agree with Terryanne, a fishing rod is what Africa needs.
The chinese over the past years have increased investment in infrastrutures which is what Africa needs desperately and this has contributed to overall economic growth.
A $50million trade agreement would have a more positive impact on the long run than a $200million aid package.
- Posted by Abasiama Idaresit“Poverty in Africa has become an industry in Europe and North America”…
- Posted by Ann_KLWell said. If you are a student and you want to be the socially active one, you just need to make up a group of people who will collect donations and ship them to Africa. While doing that, you can still make fun of the African students for their accent or food.
At least, that is what I saw when I was an exchange student from CEE in the US.
And also, I hated all that “caring about Africa” students, who had a crying black child as a wallpaper on their desktop.
There are more issues then just aid. The problem is deeper.
Rob, excellent post and I agree with all your points. I also can’t believe that smut by George Smith was allowed to pass through, I wish Reuters wouldn’t allow the propogating of the “holier than thou” garbage to dirty this board.
- Posted by MichaelI can’t believe that a topic about Africa didn’t moderate out the comment by the Jesus-lover. Africa is a continent with hundreds of Gods, animists. To use this forum to promote one pretend-god over another is kind of insulting.
It doesn’t matter. Poverty in Africa has become an industry in Europe and North America. High-paid celebrities and executives get points for promoting African poverty.
I highly suggest that anyone who cares does some information gathering on aid policies that hurt Africa - i.e. farm subsidies for wheat, pork, beans, corn.
Let me put in terms nobody can dispute:
I will offer you $100 million of grains in the form of aid.
All of this aid will come from my farmers.
I know this will flood your local market and bankrupt ALL of your local farmers. Who can compete with FREE?!? But it’s aid. Next year we will increase the aid to $125 million because all your farmers will also need aid.
You will depend on us for eternity.
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Africa has the ability to produce its own food. It needs education, equipment, and inputs (fertilizer). That’s it. The hands willing to work already exist. Give Africa a chance to compete and break up the mega-agricultural companies.
When we get over that little problem, Africa won’t be the poor man of the world any longer.
- Posted by RobI believe the people of Africa should be helped in what ways we possibly can especially spiritually. All lands need to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That God sent his only begotten Son to die for our sins on the cross, he was buried, and rose from the dead and went back up to Heaven.Trust him as your Saviour and God.
- Posted by george smith