The Aid Debate.

So, this is going to be a long one, but something that I have been increasingly interested in the past few months is the debate about aid to developing countries. And, currently living in a developing nation, my inner debate in the decision making process on where I stand on this subject has been amplified. There are several schools of thought regarding international aid and development, and I have yet to fully decide whose soapbox I’d like to join, but here’s some it:

One school of thought falls in line with economists like Jeffrey Sachs. He’s written loads of books, but one that fuels a lot of the debate is his book “The End of Poverty”. I love a lot of what he says in this publication, and honestly agree with much of it. Sachs is aligned with the One campaign and is buddy-buddy with Bono, so if you are familiar with Bono’s soapbox on international aid, I think you’ll have a pretty good picture of where Sachs stands. Much of what he says in his book is putting out the idea that global poverty is beatable, but one of the key factors to achieving this is aid. He thinks that the UN’s Millennium Development goals cannot be met unless developed nations step up and give more, as well as canceling some of the debts of impoverished countries. He also discusses things like democracy and hyperinflation, but I think some of the most controversial bits of his stance on the topic are around this idea that aid is the major solution to poverty. He says that governments and countries that are struggling will not be able to develop without the resources that already developed nations have to offer. People don’t like this. Suggesting that countries should give 0.7% of their GNP is offensive to many. My social worker self thinks that 0.7% is really pocket change if you look at where we spend the other 99.3%, but that’s a conversation for another day...and, I think that there are only a few countries that have actually met this goal, Sweden being one of them (Michelle). Socialism works for them…anyone else wanna give it a go? :)

Anyways, people have big qualms with Sachs’ stance, and there is much literature out and about refuting his ideas. Most notably (well, notably meaning that it sits on my bookshelf at home) is William Easterly’s book “The White Man’s Burden”, or recently Dambisa Moyo’s book “Dead Aid”. I read Moyo’s book right before I left for Namibia, and I’ll tell you, that woman is feisty! And, while I honestly don’t agree with here stance on aid as a whole, one theme that she continually points to is that aid, in its current form, is not working and does not work. I would tend to agree with this. Moyo and Easterly, though, think that Sachs’ stance on poverty, and how to curtail it, will only make the situation worse. If I remember correctly, in the opening chapters of “Dead Aid” Moyo remarks that the discussion on aid to Africa, specifically, has been colonized in the same way that Africa was. Ouch. She says that money has been poured into Africa in ways that have only made the situation worse, by funding corruption and fueling conflicts. Basically, Moyo thinks that Africa’s development needs to be left up to Africa.

Now, I can see where she comes from, but again, being a social worker, I believe that we have a responsibility to each other. My thoughts are that social justice will never be achieved if we just turn our backs to each other’s suffering. And, if you like John Rawls, then you’ll agree with the idea of justice as fairness, and I could never see how children going to bed without food, or people dying from preventable diseases, or lack of access to quality education or health care is in any way just or fair. Therefore, I count these as some of the great injustices of our time...Helen Keller said that social justice will never happen unless the great mass of humanity begins to take responsibility for one another’s well being. I love that quote…I think I butchered it, but I love it nonetheless.

So, here in lies my personal debate. I don’t agree that aid should be stopped, quite the contrary. I agree with much of what Sachs stipulates and I like the Millennium Development goals for what they are. (On a side note, if I’m correct, I think that Sachs also thinks that capitalism is a necessary structure for development…this is a thought that I would also like to philosophically explore sometime, because I’m not really a fan of capitalism.). However, I don’t think the system of aid that has been in place is a good one, and I do think that it has often done a lot of harm in many instances. So, what’s the solution? I really don’t know, but I am beginning to think more and more that if there could be a way to funnel aid more directly into micro-loans and other income-generating endeavors, that aid could be more assuredly given to the areas that need them, instead of into the pockets of government officials. (There was an anti corruption rally in Windhoek recently, and I was about glued to the tv screen. Democracy in action.) Anyways, I don’t know how to make it work, but I’m wondering if aid could be given directly to organizations such as IMF or the World Bank, and then distributed better through their programs into more grassroots endeavors? I don’t think that the trickle down effect works for the distribution of taxes, and I don’t think that it works for aid either. I think Sachs suggested something like this as well, but more along the lines of creating fewer sources that impoverished governments have to be accountable to, so therefore better monitoring for both sides.

Well, long story long I have many thoughts about this, and I obviously don’t know the right answer. But, I do know that dropping aid like Santa Claus and then peacing out is a disastrous model, and I have seen the negative effects of it already in my few short weeks in Namibia. That is one of the reasons why I love the model of BEN Namibia so much. The essence of what they do is with the idea in mind that the projects they are starting need to be able to be sustainable in so many ways, but importantly without BEN Namibia there. (Yet another inner debate I have come across: sustainability. I don’t know if I even know what that means anymore…) Not that this is an easy feat, but every project at BEN Namibia is begun with the intention of giving individuals the tools necessary to run the business of the Bicycling Empowerment Centre, in hopes of transforming and empowering their community, by their own hands. And, as BEN is finding that even after a project is formed that their main office here in Windhoek still ends up being a supplier of parts and services (which is not what they are structured to do) they have developed this conference that I am helping to plan with the hopes of being able to connect each of the Centres, from communities all over the country, with dealers and with the Ministry of Trade so that they can become a thriving network within themselves. I think it’s great, and I love this model…more like this, please.

The moral: I’m still a bit lost on the aid debate…who knows, but hopefully those making the decisions will get it right sometime soon…