DP #2: International Aid
Today we talked about International Aid in our Development Perspective class. It is incredible how it works and how the western countries create dependencies and enforce their politics to developing countries. If we talk about International Aid we talk about a huge machinery which pays the pay check of many people in the western countries. It is possible to declare many projects as “Official Development Assistance” (ODA) but nobody can say where the money really goes. Does it really reach the people it should reach? And if it reaches them, is the aid the help they wanted? I just know that the countries spending a lot of money for ODAs attract public attention but it is not evaluated how valuable the aid for the developing country actually was. On the website of the Commitment to Development Index you can see how much countries invest into International Aid.
In my last blog DP #1 I was already stating, that the target of International Aid should be to make itself redundant. The target is to develop countries in a sustainable way so that they have a stable economy and political system and are on the best way to close the gap between rich and poor. But is there an end to see in International Aid? Are the western countries really interested in this? International Aid runs a whole industry and silence the conscience of the western world. I asked if there is an end in International Aid in our videoconference with Julian Parr, who is a Development Consultant at Oxfam and currently working in New Delhi. He stated that there is a movement towards capacity building, but it really depends on the country. In India for example there are capable people who can do the job now, he did before. It still remains difficult because aid is highly decentralized and NGOs are competing with each other. He believes that International Aid will still be needed in countries where it is difficult to find local staff.
The challenges are huge and extremely complex but there are solutions on a social, physical, economic and political level. One of the main points is to look at the country/the region and ask the locals what is really needed to grow and stimulate local markets. It is important to consider the culture and customs. Another point is the work of the NGOs where projects still compete or even worse, work against each other. Since they are addressing the same problems they should coordinate their work and keep the target they are working for in mind.
You can watch an interview with Julian Parr about International Aid, challenges due to cultures and poverty here: http://www.eugad.eu/wiki/index.php?title=India_-_NGO_-_Julian_Parr_%28video%29
2 comentarios /
22 Nov 2011
por
Marie Glück
IMSD /
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