T
Theban
Guest
Unfortunately, most foreign aid is not effective and can even contribute to the problems that they are supposed to relieve. This goes for many private charities as well. Good programs focus on things like supporting education and building infrastructure, and providing medical services, as these things are very effective.
Most programs focus on sharing resources, however, and while the intentions are good the results can be disastrous, for a number of reasons.
In my country there was a huge scandal a while back because it was discovered that we had spent millions on donating tractors and machinery to African farmers, without any form of administration outside of just shipping them off. What happened was that they were simply scrapped for parts, as the locals didn’t even know what they were.
Another problem, though this is mostly done by charities, is food aid. Sending food directly to the victims of a famine for immediate relief is good, but it still needs to be administered and controlled.
It’s actually a huge problem in Africa that some people think everyone is starving everywhere, and drop emergency packages on perfectly fine communities. What happens is that the farmers aren’t able to sell their food because free food is falling down from the sky, and suddenly it has become impossible for the locals to produce their own food.
All charity needs to be carefully administered by capable people, and that requires a significant administration fee. That is a complicated reality, though, and most politicians are looking for quick and easy solutions that will give them good publicity, and so even the best foreign aid programs are usually not ideal.
That said, the good kind of charity is doing wonders for increasing the living standards of the poor in the world, especially the support given in education and sanitation.
Most programs focus on sharing resources, however, and while the intentions are good the results can be disastrous, for a number of reasons.
In my country there was a huge scandal a while back because it was discovered that we had spent millions on donating tractors and machinery to African farmers, without any form of administration outside of just shipping them off. What happened was that they were simply scrapped for parts, as the locals didn’t even know what they were.
Another problem, though this is mostly done by charities, is food aid. Sending food directly to the victims of a famine for immediate relief is good, but it still needs to be administered and controlled.
It’s actually a huge problem in Africa that some people think everyone is starving everywhere, and drop emergency packages on perfectly fine communities. What happens is that the farmers aren’t able to sell their food because free food is falling down from the sky, and suddenly it has become impossible for the locals to produce their own food.
All charity needs to be carefully administered by capable people, and that requires a significant administration fee. That is a complicated reality, though, and most politicians are looking for quick and easy solutions that will give them good publicity, and so even the best foreign aid programs are usually not ideal.
That said, the good kind of charity is doing wonders for increasing the living standards of the poor in the world, especially the support given in education and sanitation.
