MetaFilter posts tagged with Africa and aid

A New Approach to Aid

The Whelk — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:55:08 -0800

" Under the plan, every citizen, rich or poor, would be entitled to it starting at birth. There would be no poverty test, no conditions and, therefore, no social bureaucracy. And no one would be told what he or she is permitted to do with the money." Promising news from Spiegel Online about a Guaranteed minimum income project in Otjivero, Namibia. (via)

Sach's Attack

infini — Mon, 25 May 2009 03:37:27 -0800

Ad hominem attacks, discreditation and the increasingly shrill attempts to gather support against the rapid popularity of Dambisa Moyo's book "Dead Aid" [recently] are raising the question: Has the time come for 'aging western academics and rock stars' to retire gracefully from the scene? “She has tapped into deep seam of anger from Africans who look at the economic shambles of the western world and ask themselves, ‘who appointed these people to tell Africans how to run their affairs?’,” says Miles Morland, a pioneer investor in African markets.

To Help? or To Hinder?

adamvasco — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:16:38 -0800

"The function of aid is not to make us feel better about ourselves; it is to promote development, and if a well-informed African tells us that we are inadvertently having the opposite effect, we had better take heed".

Time to stop aid for Africa? An argument against. Despite receiving more than $1 trillion from the west over the last half century, Africa remains in dire economic straits. Dambisa Moyo thinks aid is to blame and should stop now. Hence Capitalism for Africa. To reduce poverty and create jobs, Africa must become economically competitive. Aid in itself will not ensure sustainable development. Improving Africa's competitiveness will. (previously).

Who saves the saviors?

cal71 — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:57:47 -0800

In the field of humanitarian aid, personnel decisions are life and death business. The UN knows all too well the costs of poor oversight, but aid worker and blogger Michael Kleinman makes another observation, far more disturbing. In the multi-billion dollar humanitarian aid business, some lives are worth less than others, and not only among the populations served. Local staff are the lifeblood of international charity organizations, and a lifeline for those they serve, yet they too rarely make the headlines, either to celebrate their work or to acknowledge their sacrifice. Is this a symptom of neo-colonialist attitudes in global aid or the evolution of aid into anything but neutral charity (or ngo-colonialism)? Simple racism? Or are the economic conditions in many of these places so dire that the relatively well-paying jobs for international organizations make the risk seem worthwhile in countries where civil society and the middle class have been destroyed or never existed in the first place?

Get out of the vehicle, or we'll burn it

Artw — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:52:36 -0800

Zimbabwe: Holds diplomats (after threatening to burn them), suspends aid, bans opposition rallies.

More help where its most needed.

allkindsoftime — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:56:35 -0800

No-small-news-filter: House Votes to Continue and Expand President's Global Effort Against AIDS. The House voted to drastically expand funding to the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief. Not everyone is happy with the details of the bill regarding AIDS prevention, but something is better than nothing. Roughly 1/5th of the funding is earmarked for tuberculosis and malaria relief / prevention as well. More info from USAID.

The Year of Living Utopianly

loquax — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 21:49:08 -0800

The Utopian Nightmare : "What is utopianism? It is promising more than you can deliver. It is seeing an easy and sudden answer to long-standing, complex problems. It is trying to solve everything at once through an administrative apparatus headed by “world leaders.” It places too much faith in altruistic cooperation and underestimates self-seeking behavior and conflict. It is expecting great things from schemes designed at the top, but doing nothing to solve the bigger problems at the bottom." Also, be sure to check out the the 16 ideas, values and institutions that may not be with us 35 years from now written by a variety of interesting people and compiled as part of Foreign Policy's 35th anniversary (although not all are free or available without registration).

planetkyoto — Sat, 02 Feb 2002 19:11:59 -0800

Gates, Bono, unveil 'DATA Agenda' for Africa "We have an agenda," said Bono at a news conference, "which we're calling the 'DATA Agenda': 'Debt, AIDS and trade for Africa, in return for democracy, accountability and transparency in Africa.'

As bracing as it is to see a picture of Bono with Bill Gates, there is an interesting message here. Bono compares Africa today with post-WWII Europe, describing it as vulnerable to extremism. Bill Gates is fronting the cash to improve health care and raise living standards in third-world countries.