In 2011, World Bank (2013) aided the amount equivalent to 54 US dollars per individual in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the question is if 910.4 million of people in sub-Saharan Africa have equally enjoyed its benefit. Despite the regional and international aid dedicated to eradicate poverty in the last 60 years, about 442 million, the half of population in sub-Saharan Africa, are still living on under 1.25 US dollars everyday (World Bank, 2013). Although the efficacy of international aid on poverty reduction has been questioned in a large number of public and academic discourses, many so called developed countries such as G8 are yet encouraged to provide more aid (Sachs, 2005) while less developed countries still rely on international aid as means to reduce poverty and achieve Millennium Development Goals (Glennie, 2008; Moyo, 2010). This does not seem to lead to the end nor the reduction of poverty. Instead, this essay argues that in order to achieve poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa, international aid needs to be reduced because it reinforces poverty, namely the power and economic disparities. I will first look at theoretical and historical backgrounds in relation to the development and international aid in sub-Saharan Africa and then examine the controversy which international aid generates to the local and international communities in terms of culture, sustainability, and politics. Finally, I will suggest an alternative way for sub-Saharan African communities’ development. While sub-Saharan Africa is culturally, socio-economically, and politically unique and diverse region, in this essay, I refer to Schuurman (1993)’s definition that inequality is what characterizes and holds them together.
Before discussing how i...
... middle of paper ...
...nnie (2008)’s suggestion on the taxation of foreign and transnational business in African states along the enforcement of legitimate laws could secure an increase in Gross Domestic Products. In addition and more importantly, such law should assure socioeconomic and environmental sustainability of the local communities so that economic growth would actually lead to the empowerment of middle-class and civil society to guarantee social and political autonomy instead of exploiting it.
In conclusion, this essay has argued that international aid assigned to poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa has not served its objectives, as Western donors were more interested in resources and the maintenance of socioeconomic and political power. To reduce poverty, aid needs to be reduced so that African countries can build capacity to determine and achieve their own development.
It is thought-provoking, in the sense that Africa’s need for foreign created a race to the bottom, much like what Pietra Rivoli described in The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy. Due to some African states’ reliance on foreign aid in order to mine and profit on their resources, they allow business standards to be lowered and for Chinese firms to tip the contracts moresoever in the favor of Chinese firms. This lowers the potential earnings of African states by lowering royalty rates, for example. Additionally, Burgis’ research was thorough and transparent. When he did not receive a response or if his questions were dodged, he made it obvious to the readers. Sure, some could view this book as too anecdotal to be used as a credible source of Africa’s situation. However, this is due to the nature of the system Burgis is writing about; after all, they are shadow states for a reason. Some readers will be saddened by this text, others angry, most curious to learn more, but above all, everyone will be intellectually stimulated and
Probably one of the most recognized events of the 1980’s is the collapse of communism but first it is important to look at events that leading up to this collapse to provide a better context of events post collapse. One very significant period of time was the mid 1980’s when it seemed all eyes were on Africa in its entirety. The release of the song “We are the World” in 1985, the “Break the Chains” campaign of 1987, and the focus on the influential figure, Desmond Tutu, during 1986 are all examples of how the United States and other countries were focused on providing aid to africa. In her book, Enlightened Aid: U.S. Development as Foreign Policy in Ethiopia, Amanda McVety explains this aid and how United Sates foreign aid was a cold war project, “It offered a Cold War weapon that was not a weapon and promised peace through peaceful me...
This failure suffered by Africa has prevented it from attaining success and economic viability since it has been addicted to the aid and, therefore, become aid dependent, to the disadvantage of economic growth and responsible governance (Ashta, 2013).
Every year, donors from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) give billions of dollars in foreign aid, with the United States contributing a large percentage of this sum (Eischen 2012) (Figure A). However, the amount and way in which this money is handled has given rise to heavy criticism. Books such as Dambisa Moya’s Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way For Africa and the innumerable news articles lamenting the state of the corrupt bureaucracies of receiving countries not only discuss the inefficiencies of foreign aid but also accuse these programs of being harmful (Ayodele et al. 2005). One such article claimed that, due to inefficiencies and corruption, at least twenty percent of aid is completely lost (Chakraborty 2013).
The way in which foreign aid is distributed is highly ineffective and fails to achieve its sole purpose. Corruption ravages the developing world; greedy diplomats and fraudulent officials are often known to embezzle vast amounts of the aid money given to help those most in need. As Lord P. T. Bauer of London School for Economics famously said, foreign aid is “an excellent method for transferring money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.” The money does not reach those who need it but is instead pocketed by dishonest members of government in foreign countries. Over the past years more than half a billion pounds have been invested in Africa yet there is little visual improvement in extreme poverty, deprivation and the child mortality rate. Evidently, Britain’s aid scheme is uselessly trying to combat poverty against a brick wall of bureaucracy. Without doubt this money would be better invested within the UK improving health and education and lowering the deficit.
Foreign aid can destroy natural mechanisms of economic growth if not properly apportioned to the individuals with motivation and passion for expansion. When blindly given to governments and the public, aid destroys native markets and halts natural growth. NGOs, charities and governments need to take the time to meet the needs of the poor individuals ensuring that local governments have a symbiotic relationship with those they govern over and that governments do not become corrupt or prone to cause civil unrest. Aid focused on meeting the needs of those ensnared by poverty traps can exponentially initiate growth but only if done with appropriate care and caution.
It addresses how aid to Africa increases the cycle of poverty and diseases because the nation becomes more dependent on others and will not work to improve their health problems. Although the Aid for AIDS as of 2003 has increased the amount of people on ARV treatment from three hundred thousand to over three million the rate of transmission is still high and treatment is not the only cure. The paper says if Aids increase, the disease will not go away and western donors will lose interest in a cause that is refusing to stop despite their
Colonialism is a feature of European expansion that took control of territory and people across the world starting in the 16th century. The last wave of colonialism was in Africa during the late nineteenth century, and these African colonies did not gain independence until the end of World War II. Decolonization was followed by years of economic, political, and social instability that made living conditions worse for the individuals in society. In this era of globalization, the economic strength of Western powers has created a new type of imperialism over the developing nations. A growing inequality gap between rich and poor countries has resulted in lower living standards in areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where a majority of the population suffers from a lack of basic human needs. Sierra Leone is a nation on the West Coast of Africa that was unable to develop in the past as a result of British occupation, bad governance, corruption, and civil war. Today, it faces new challenges as it tries to develop in a highly integrated market economy that is dominated by the Western powers. In the 1980’s, development efforts made by Bretton Woods institutions within Sierra Leone focused on short-term stability of the economy based on neoliberal economic policies. The country has seen some economic stability, but this has not resulted in higher living standards. Today, it is still one of the poorest countries in the world, and efforts are now being shifted to focus on poverty reduction.
Since the countries that receive foreign aid are usually underdeveloped countries that lack solid government systems there can be the issue of local corruption. Developed states tend to use this excuse as a reason not to provide the aid that should be given to the global poor, but it is not the rich states place to comment or deal with local corruption because as we saw in the relatively widespread failure of structural adjustment programs on the African continent, when the West intervenes in the economies of sovereign states they tend to cause more damage than repair in the long run. Aid should be sent no questions asked in the same way that China is now investing in countries all over Africa. If foreign aid wants to by-pass the hands of local corruption then they should send people to directly use the aid for state development. The developed part of the world could also support change in global institutions, which favour poor countries. Even if it is not ‘feasible’ or ‘possible,’ there should still be a move towards a more egalitarian model because rich states were able to develop at a time when there restrictive global institutional practices did not exist and in contrast the Global South is struggling to develop not only in a shorter time frame but under a vastly different economic and
African governments have given in to the whim’s of international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in social and health policies, and with this, has come a shift away from former emphasis on social justice and equitable market efficiency to public health services for all now being perceived as a major threat ...
It is easy to romanticize poverty, to see poor people as inherently lacking agency and will. It is easy to strip them of human dignity, to reduce them to objects of pity. And this has never been clearer than in the view of Africa ..." - Chmimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Maathai believes that Africa needs to unite and find their cultural inheritance. They should fight of the legacies left by colonialism, endemic corruption, poverty and climate change together to build a better continent for all Africans. This is done through transparent, ethical leadership free from western influence, but from within African civil society itself, through grassroots movements (Maathai: 2009). Maathai highlights the paradox of Africa; it is a con-tinent rich in natural resources such as diamonds, oil, copper and many more, yet it is still one of if not the poorest continent on the planet. There are many explanations into what could cause this paradox. This essay will try to explain this paradox through two contrib-uting
African nations regularly fall to the bottom of any list measuring economic activity, such as per capita income or per capita GDP, despite a wealth of natural resources. The bottom 25 spots of the United Nations (UN) quality of life index are regularly filled by African nations. In 2006, 34 of the 50 nations on the UN list of least developed countries are in Africa. In many nations, the per capita income is often less than $200 U.S. per year, with the vast majority of the population living on much less. In addition, Africa's share of income has been consistently dropping over the past century by any measure. In 1820, the average European worker earned about three times what the average African did. Now, the average European earns twenty times what the average African does. Although per capita incomes in Africa have also been steadily growing, and poverty falling, measures are still far better in other parts of the world, such as Latin America, which suffers from many of the same disadvantages that Africa has.
The gap between developed and underdeveloped is evident in today’s world. In naïve effort to bridge this gap a host of aid projects and development schemes are plotted onto less developed countries. But what is development really? James Ferguson attempts to explore this concept in his book “The Anti-Politics Machine: ‘Development’, Depoliticization and Bureaucratic Power in Lesotho”. The book is an extension of Ferguson’s PhD dissertation and was published in 1990 by Cambridge University Press. The book is interesting in that it seeks to give the reader a critical understanding and insight of the actual processes that take place when development projects are implemented. Using the small African country of Lesotho as his setting, Ferguson’s book is centre around the Thaba-Tseka Development Project. This book is likely interest a variety of audience, namely anthropologists, sociologists, economists, development practitioners or any lay person interested in the field of development.
The overriding challenge Uganda faces today is the curse of poverty. Poverty, ‘the lack of something”(“Poverty.”), something can be materials, knowledge, or anything one justifies as necessary to living. Associated with poverty is the question of what causes poverty and how to stop poverty? The poverty rate in Uganda has declined from the year 2002 from the year 2009, which shows the percent of residents living in poverty has decreasing. Yet, the year is 2014 and the poverty rate could have drastically changed over the course of five years. One could assume the poverty rate would continue to decrease, which would be astounding and beneficial, but does poverty ever decrease enough to an acceptable level or even nonexistence? Poverty is a complex issue that continues to puzzle people from all across the globe. Poverty could possible be a question that is never truly answered.