Does Africa really need more aid?
Blogged by: Nina Brenjo
Musician Bono at the premiere of the documentary film "We Are Together" during the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Photo by REUTERS\Lucas Jackson
Does the world need to throw yet more money at Africa? The question has been on the lips of many analysts who are increasingly sceptical about aid as a solution for the continent's woes. But as Der Spiegel reports, at least rock legend Bono's faith in aid remains unshaken.
The U2 front man paid a visit to German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of the annual powwow of G8 countries now meeting in Heligendamm. He wants Merkel to be a leading example for other participants of how to "spend more money on Africa". But, as Ghana's Statesman points out, "pessimism (in Germany) is thick in the air as far as the African agenda is concerned".
The rich world has spent $2.3 trillion over 50 years on aid to the worlds' poorest countries, yet poverty grinds on relentlessly. Bono still thinks aid can be effective as long as it's "backed up by the right concepts and strictly monitored", according to the paper.
He's not the only well-known personality to lobby on Africa's behalf. It seems that an unusual mix of former politicians, company founders and bank executives have teamed up with pop stars on a mission to "find a higher purpose for their wealth", Der Spiegel says.
And then there are the world's billionaires, all 946 of them. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates tops the list, and he's been doing his bit through his Gates Foundation. The charity's $1.5 billion budget for health projects in the developing world equals the entire annual budget of the U.N. World Health Organisation. No wonder developmental economist Jeffrey Sachs thinks billionaires alone could save the continent by donating only a 5 percent of their income per year.
But Sach's "history-lite, politics-free (and) unashamedly populist" vision of the world doesn't bare any relation to the real world, argues Michela Wrong in Britain's News Statesman. The notion that the poor only need Western know-how and a bigger injection of aid may sound simple and appealing, but it just doesn't stand up to scrutiny, she says.
As an alternative, Wrong recommends Paul Collier's "Bottom Billion", a study of the factors that keep a billion of the planet's inhabitants in poverty. Collier's argument is that aid is not as important as it may sound from all the debates. In Wrong's words, summing up one of the book's premises:
(Aid) has been hugely oversold, both by those who think it works miracles and by those who blame it for Africa's woes. It has probably added just one percentage point to the annual growth rates of the poorest countries in the past 30 years - hardly the economic Viagra that Sachs suggests.
What's more, in Collier's analysis, the absorptive limits of many African countries have already been reached.
He reserves unique scorn for NGO campaigns on trade policy, believing that NGOs are pushing for African barriers to trade to remain in place. The results, he says, is the preservation of the corrupt elite and stagnant domestic business. What the continent actually needs, he argues, is special protection for African exports to the West.
Collier's message, as interpreted by Wrong, is Making Poverty History is not easy. Ultimately, if the public wants to really participate in the campaign, it needs to "raise its intellectual game" rather than blindly follow the seemingly simple solutions offered by celebrity politicians and pop stars.
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9 responses to “Does Africa really need more aid?”
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08 Jun 2007 10:39:10 GMT
What African nations needs is not only Western financial aid or food aid itâs a short time help not a long run. It needed massive marshal planning to develop their health care system and agricultural system. Western governments must also encourage their citizens and companies to empowered African nations in terms of investing in Africa countries. Western governments must also open their market for African goods fair trade policy. Western governments and African governments must understand biggest challenge in Africa is anticorruption, good governmental policy.
Western governments must release if they are willing to eliminate poverty in African countries must open their economic market and their resources into African nations. Western government must develop a mechanism which will be fair world trade policy to help in African countries.08 Jun 2007 16:24:27 GMT
These comments reenforce my convictions that Rafiki Foundation (www.rafiki-foundation.org) is doing a great job of building model villages there in now 10 African nations, and hiring nationals to be the orphans mommys and teachers and having medical clinics and teaching the widows, etc to make saleable products that are sold in USA at least, for now; as a fair trade practice - no middle man $... More satellite villages of this type are being build and manned totally by natives, even now... the governments are clamoring for them!
08 Jun 2007 16:25:24 GMT
The problem is that prior Aid was largely military, and not at all tracked once dispersed.
Much of it was given as a carrot to prompt states towards policy goals. If confronting poverty BECAME a policy goal towards which aid was tailored, I am convinced it could be highly effective. Without transparency and accountability, aid is like any other cash thrown at a problem - gone without a trace.08 Jun 2007 16:26:19 GMT
When is aid really aid? Is PEPFAR aid when it stipulates what the money should be spent on, regardless of how things are on the ground?
Is food really aid when it is produced, processed and procured in the US and sent where the US decides and subsequently results in weakened local markets and aid dependency? Is Bill Gates really helping when he 'gives' countries the money to buy transgenic terminator crops so the poor recipients need to shell out money for a piece of intellectual property that was probably stolen from them in the first place? Is DFID 'aid' spent on consultants that go to South Africa to tell them how to privatise water really aid? Is the UK really giving aid to African countries' health care systems when they have also poached as many of their personnel as they can? Is it generous to give a cheap laptop to millions of starving children who are riddled with intestinal parasites? Have Tanzanians gained 'aid' from those who connived so that they spent money on rubbish in the name of defence? I could go on and on, but this is not an argument against aid. It's an argument against pretending to help people when you are really just playing politics with the lives of millions of people.09 Jun 2007 18:21:28 GMT
Africa needs the support of International Countries and Organizations to participate in developing thier communities to meet the MGD.
It will be quit unfair if the funding that is always reported on the media for support of Africa Nations are false. I believe their are people out their who are really interested in the development of Africa and other developing countries. Truth is what can really give them the strengfht to carry out their projects well. I encourage International Organizations to kindly help to build a peaceful and loving future for children in Africa when ever you see an opportunity to do so . For God will bless the cheerfull giver aboundantly.09 Jun 2007 18:23:01 GMT
In "The Mystery of Capital", Hernado de Soto, a Peruvian Economist explains the #1 cause poverty in all the poor countries of the world including Africa. Basically, its is the lack of a legal infrastucture for captal formation. If you don't have title to your house and you can't get a licence for your business, you can't borrow against it. In many of those countries the value of undocumentable real estate and underground businesses is a multiple of the capitalization of legal businesses. Until western ecomists understand this, nothing will change.
11 Jun 2007 09:06:09 GMT
Africa does not need aid...it needs opportunity. 'Hand outs' are the worst thing you can do for someone. hand outs and aid will end up becoming a viscious cycle playing on the reels of our emotions. Africans need jobs! they need business opportunities!
11 Jun 2007 09:08:24 GMT
I attack the decision to increase aid to Africa as a sheer waste because of the squandering of Africaâs riches by the ruling classes. Africaâs problems should no longer be that of the wealthy nations. Contrary to the glowing words spoken at conferences, which in todayâs global village terms are also a waste of resources, the reality is that most of Africa (which is sub-Saharan) is still sinking.
Africa, per se, is wealthy enough to take care of itself. The ruling classes need to be reminded in no uncertain terms of their responsibilities to their voters. If those engaged in self enrichment, with amassing of wealth and political power, do not relent and get to work uplifting their countries, no amount of aid will help. Then âregime changeâ and, perhaps, re-colonisation would be the answer. Simply because âindependenceâ was not.09 Aug 2007 08:12:06 GMT
Africa has always been in the interests of 'other powers'.First it was the slave trade,then it was the partition of Africa(1885 in Berlin),then came 'indiependence',then came the 'cold war',and when it ended in the early nineties,the World Trade Organisation was born.Africa has never belonged to 'herself' long nough to concentrate on development.Yes there is bad governance.Yes there is corruption, and all the mismanagement that you can think of(I was born and brought up in Uganda).But there isn't much a(poor)country can do without fair trade.Africa was disunited(fragmented/divided)with a purpose.I am not saying everything that I have said is right.I am trying to think 'loudly'.I love Africa,and all the peace-loving people worldwide.