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The arguments for and against aid

After the tsunami, people in the developed world donated an unprecedented amount of money in a short space of time. We regularly dig deep in our pockets as a response to disasters such as famines. However, the question of whether aid is the best way to relieve the developing world's problems is complex. Here is a brief exploration of some of the positive and negative aspects of aid.

The positive aspects of aid

Large sums of money, properly directed, can undoubtedly relieve some of the immediate effects of large scale disasters, such as hunger and disease. After the tsunami, the Disasters Emergency Committee (an umbrella group of 12 aid agencies) raised £300m in two months in the UK alone. The DEC chief said :
"Thanks to the generosity [of the British public], hundreds of thousands of people who lost everything now have food, clean water and shelter.” (External) source:BBC

Beyond immediate disaster relief, aid may be used to help a developing country to get out of the poverty trap, by boosting its economy to the position at which it is able to support itself in the international market. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said:
“In order to do without handouts, [developing]countries first need a helping hand up, in the form of significant increase in official development aid.” (External) source:europaworld

Aid delivered at a local level by grass roots charities can target needs and provide people with what they really need. The Intermediate Technology Development Group advocates the sustainable use of technology to reduce poverty in developing countries:
“ITDG has a unique approach to development – to provide long-term, appropriate and practical answers, [tools] must be firmly in the hands of local people: people who shape technology and control it for themselves” (External) source:Practical Action

The right sort of aid, delivered to those who most need it, in the proper circumstances, can be of immeasurable use. But when these conditions are not met, all sorts of problems arise.

The negative aspects of aid

• Aid can often be the short term solution to a long term problem.
• Giving aid alleviates people's guilt about the poverty that exists in the developing world, whilst not necessarily solving the problems.
• Immediate relief can come in the form of skilled personnel from outside the country, who then create skill gaps in the workforce once they leave.
• Aid dumping, whereby unwanted products such as out-of-date or banned medicines are dumped in developing countries, occurs (see our article )
• Aid is often conditional - for example, countries are given aid on the condition that they privatise their public services and open up their markets - which can often have disastrous effect for the country's economy. "When a nation is down and out, the IMF takes advantage and squeezes the last pound of blood out of them." (External) source:Joseph Stiglitz, former World Bank Senior Vice President
• Aid can decrease long term investment in countries.
  “Analysis of economic trends in 68 countries over nearly three decades shows that countries signing IMF agreements attract about 25 percent less foreign direct investment than countries not under IMF agreements.” source:Jensen, May 4th 2004
• Aid can fuel corruption if it falls into the hands of the local elite.
• Aid can be technologically inappropriate, for example machines which require parts that are hard to obtain.
• Aid can be culturally inappropriate, eg giving bibles for literacy programmes to non-Christian populations
• Aid can prolong conflict. “Introducing relief supplies into a resource-scarce environment may dramatically fuel a war economy in which many have a continuing, vested interest.” source:US Aid
• Targeting certain groups to receive aid can increase divisions and tensions.
• "Up to 70% of official aid money is spent in repayments to the IMF and The World Bank."
  source:A-Z World Development, ed. Wayne Ellwood, New Internationalist Publications (1998) p.10
• Food supplied as aid is often not staple food. The influx of free food can reduce prices at local markets.

For more information on these and related topics, Brighton Peace and Environment Centre have produced a number of factsheets. For further reading, see these websites:

(External) Make Poverty History
(External) Practical Action

• Development education
• Disasters and relief
• International development
• Millenium development goals
• Green economics
• Stumbling blocks to aid
• The arguments for and against aid
• Alternatives to Aid
• Types of aid

Brighton Peace & Environment Centre, Address: 39-41 Surrey Street, Brighton, BN1 3PB. United Kingdom.
Tel: UK (01273) 766610 Email: info@bpec.org Web: www.bpec.org
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