Something that not many people know is that not all aid is good aid. The aid that is being given may actually be hurting more than it is helping. In taking this course, it has shown me that aid is something that is very situation dependent. All aid is very different based on the area the aid is being given and the people the aid is being given to. There are certain kinds of aid that are ethical, and there are other kinds of aid that are not. Based on extensive research done in this course, it has really been eye opening on what kinds of aid work and what kinds of aid do not. While the aid may look like it is helping from the outside, a lot of aid is actually making countries worse off in the long run of things. This is why aid may look like it is positive in the beginning, but in taking an extensive look at the long-term effects of different types of aid, aid may prove to be detrimental in some cases,
Short-term medical aid is doing more harm than it is good. For instance, an article about short-term medical aid given to Haiti after an earthquake really shows how unethical short-term medical aid is. While on the outside, short-term aid looks as if it may be helpful; it is really harmful to whomever it is trying to help. According to the article, short-term medical aid workers lack accountability. These aid workers often leave the patients worse off than the patient was before. The aid workers often do not speak the same language as those they are helping, which poses a safety risk to the patients. Since short-term aid workers often do not speak the native language, physicians who do speak the native language are preoccupied with answering questions and dealing with miscommunications, which can be fatal in a hospital setting. Aft...
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...pendence Get to Be a Problem?" Aid Dependance and Governance. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 2000. 21-24. Web.
"How We Help." Polaris Project. Polaris Project, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
Langowski, Michele K., and Ana S. Iltis. "Global Health Needs and the Short-Term Medical Volunteer: Ethical Considerations." Hec Forum 23 (2011): 71-78. Web.
Satterthwaite, David. "How to Ensure That Aid Empowers Urban Poor Groups." International Institute for Environment and Development. International Institute for Environment and Development, 12 July 2013. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
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Before extending aid to other countries, we should focus on our more prevalent domestic problems. Patrick Buchanan said, "The idea that we should send endless streams of tax dollars all over the world, while our own country sinks slowly in an ocean of debt is, well, ludicrous. Almost every American knows it, feels it, believes it." The topic of United States foreign policy is greatly debated, and a decision on how to handle is very hard to come by. It seems as if we are finally leaning towards less aid to foreign countries, as we try to cut wasteful spending. The American government is finally opening its eyes to the realization that all of the aid we are giving out may not be worth it. Our priority should be to help our homeless, instead of other countries' poor.
...ds and clothes, a free flu vaccination or a simple clinical examination seems to be common for an averaged-salary worker, but it can be the entire world to a poorly sick elder who could not afford for just a short doctor 's visit. As I believe that the medicine does not only emphasize on the physical treatment of a disease, it is also necessary to establish essential connections with others at both critical and noncritical moments in their lives. Meanwhile, I have witnessed the powerful impact of compassion, perseverance, and problem-solving skill on our society through volunteering; these valuable life elements will be the keys leading to the success of an osteopathic physician. Thanks to the volunteering opportunities, it confirmed and made me realized that pursuing my dream to become a physician is truly what I want to do, not just a curiosity like I have thought.
Founded in 1984 by Dr. Robert Simon, International Medical Corps is a global, non-secular, not for profit, humanitarian organization based out of Santa Monica, California. A signatory of the Code of Conduct of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, IMC operates according to the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence. In accordance with the principle of humanity, IMC has pledged to address human suffering wherever it may be found, to protect the life, health and respect of humans beings; neutrality means that the organization does not take side or take part in political, racial, religious or ideological conflict. The concept of impartiality guides the International Medical Corps to distribute aid on the basis of need alone, prioritizing the most urgent cases with a disregard for nationality, race, gender, religious belief, class or political viewpoint. Their operational independence allows the IMC to work completely independently from the political, economic, military or any other object that donors may have, making the IMC a dunantist organization. The mission of the International Medical Corp “is to improve the quality of life through health interventions and related activities that build local capacity in underserved communities worldwide.” IMC operates with the intention of rehabilitating “devastated health care systems [to help] bring them back to self-reliance.”
The United States is one of the leading suppliers of Foreign Aid in the world, and even though the US gives billions, European countries give aid money to the same countries, this causes many areas of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia to be almost fully dependent on foreign aid. This means that without aid from other countries, they would not be able to support themselves at all. Foreign aid is meant to help countries that are struggling with civil unrest, disease, or natural disasters, it is not meant to help keep the country out of debt, but that is where more and more of the US and The EU’s foreign aid budget is going. The question is, does all this money actually go where it is intended? It should be going towards the government and to help the people, but in many cases, the countries government does not have the resources to properly track the flow of money. The countries in most cases have poor infrastructure and corrupt or oppressive leaders, not always at a national level, but in the towns and cities. So this means there is almost no way to oversee the flow of foreign aid through the country, all we can see is that their situations aren't getting any better and the countries are still impoverished. If this is the case, where are the millions of dollars going? Countries like Afghanistan and Iraq receive the most money from American foreign aid and European aid, yet they are still under oppressive governmental rule and there is still an extreme difference between the rich and poor. Garrett Harding’s theory of “Lifeboat Ethics” exemplifies how not giving aid to others will allow the strongest of society to thrive, while teaching the impoverished to help themselves. He believes that giving aid to poor countries will only make ...
Shah, Anup. “Poverty Facts and Stats.” Global Issues, Updated: 28 Mar. 2010. Accessed: 05 Apr. 2010.
I traveled to Lima,Peru, providing primary care services,medication,and preventive health education to low-income areas.I assisted physicians in seeing hundreds of people.Many of the health problems we witnessed were common,such as diabetes and high blood pressure.Without our clinic,these people would go untreated,making their conditions worse.One patient had an old IUD that was infected and embedded into the uterine wall.Unable to receive care to have it removed,she had to live in pain.This experienced showed me the importance that basic health care be provided to
I interacted with more people than I could count - all the while astounded by how many clinics were needed to give the underprivileged basic medical needs. This required participation in interviews on patient history and diagnostic discussions with supervising physicians. Daily, I saw the eyes of the little boy in young patients; I was reminded that it was possible to make a difference in these other countries. I had another opportunity that I did not with the little boy: I was able to form relationships with many of the terminally ill patients while serving tea and talking in hopes of boosting
Riley, Geoff. "Poverty & Inequality in Resource Allocation." Poverty & Inequality in Resource Allocation. Tutor2u, 23 Sept. 2012. Web. 06 May 2014.
Shah, Anup. "Poverty and the Environment." - Global Issues. N.p., 12 Feb. 2005. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
Volunteering enables a person to develop new skills that he or she would otherwise not have been able to develop. Unlike most other organizations, a charitable organization is happy to give positions to passionate, though inexperienced, individuals who desire to help others and benefit the community. Therefore, an individual with little experience in a field of work can gain meaningful skills that he or she can use in the future. For example, while I volunteered at the hospital this summer, I learned about the daily work lives and professional duties of doctors and nurses. Had I not volunteered, I would not have learned about these things. I was always interested in the medical field, but volunteering at the hospital let me explore my interests and en...
Poor countries have been receiving aid from the international community for over a century now. While such aid is supposed to be considered an act of kindness from the donor nations or international bodies, it has led to over dependence among the developing countries. They have adopted the habit of estimating and including international aid in their national budgets to reduce their balance of trade deficits. It is believed that foreign aid is necessary for poor nations in order to break the cycle of poverty that ties their citizens in low productivity zones and so their economy will not be weak. However, some critics view the extension of aid to poor countries as means of keeping the nations in economic slumber so that they can wake up from only by devising ways of furthering self-sustainability. Because of these two schools of thought concerning the topic, debate has arisen on which side is more rational and factual than the other. The non-sustainable nature of international aid, however, leaves the question of what may happen in the event that foreign aid is unavailable for the poor nations. After thorough consideration on the effects of the assistance to poor countries, it is sufficient to state that giving international aid to the poor nations is more disadvantageous than beneficial to the nations. This point is argued through an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of giving international aid to the poor countries with appropriate examples drawn from various regions of the world to prove the stance.
The healthcare industry of the Bahamas is divided into two sectors, public and private health care. There are five hospitals, which includes two private hospitals and three public hospitals, and numerous public community clinics along with the many private facilities through which medical services are rendered (Doctors Hospital, 2009). The Princess Margaret Hospital, which is the main public facility, according to Smith (2010) in 1905 was people’s last choice when seeking medical attention. Smith described the then hospital as being partitioned into four areas, “for the sick, indigent, lepers and insane” (Smith, 2010). Smith (2010) further expressed that the medical services were free and those that were financially stable paid for treatment to be carried out at their homes. Today, 108 years later, much has changed within health care arena. Presently, there is an increase in the number of persons resorting to the public hospitals and public clinics for medical attention. For those that are in good financially standings they make use of private hospitals or/and other private medical facilities. While some people may use the public medical facilities by choice there are others whom, because of their income or lack of income, have no other alternative but to fall at the hands of the public services. Too, for many years the Bahamas has had the problem of immigrants from Haiti crossing the Bahamian borders illegally and this therefore results in an increase in the funds allocated for the health care industry. According to McCartney (2010) the Haitian nationals accounted for 11.5% of the Bahamas population, hence adding to the government health care budget (McCartney, 2013). The reality is that the Bahamas is far from winning...
McMichael, Philip, ed 2012. Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective, 5th ed. London: Sage Publications, Inc.
Peter Burnell and Lise Rakner 2008 Governance and Aid Conditionality in a Globalizing World. United States of America: Oxford University Press