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Development
"Aid agencies are promoting a vital product - understanding the causes of inequality and underdevelopment and methods of overcoming them." - Timothy Morris, The Despairing Developer.
"I had begun to cotton on to the view set out in the anti-donor books... that foreign aid has been destructive in Africa - has actually caused harm." - Paul Theroux, Dark Star Safari.
Many Irish Aid Agencies are involved in Development work throughout Africa. It is a difficult job, often filled with frustration and failure. One of our aims is to experience development work in several African countries first hand by visiting projects along our route. We would also like to explore some of the issues facing aid agencies in general and to explore the success of development work in Africa so far.
This year, Trocaire (who spend fifty-five percent of their charitable expenditure in Africa) feature Ethiopia, one of the countries on our itinerary, in their Lenten Campaign which is based on "making poverty history".
The Many Faces of Development Work
- Emergency Aid
- Infrastructural Aid
- Social Aid (health, education)
- Government-To-Government Aid
- Non-Governmental Aid (NGOs)
The Challenges Facing Developers in Africa
- Curruption (two thirds of all aid funding leaves Africa in 'aid flight')
- The polical nature of aid itself - strings attached
- Lack of funding (the world's attention has shifted the the Tsunami Disaster in Asia)
- Bureaucracy - Red Tape
- Cultural Clashes (Religion etc)
- Over-reliance on Aid (it stifles local enterprise)
- The need for self-reliance and self-sufficiency (feed a man a fish...)
- Aid initiatives can backfire and have unforeseen consequences
- And more...
Who is Involved?
- Western Governments
- The EU
- The UN who have created the Millennium Development Goals
- The IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank
- The World Trade Organization
- NGOs
- And more...
What do you think?
- Peter Bauer, an economist, has argued that trade not aid will trigger growth in African economies.
- Aid is essential because it helps create the conditions – strong public institutions, the rule of law, good education, a healthy population, and so on – that make self-sustained economic growth possible.
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Typical Projects
Development Trends
- A move toward the involvement of local people in projects
- A move toward greater accountability
- A move toward greater efficiency
- A move away from project based work toward more long term development
- A move toward sustainable development rather than emergency aid
- A move toward better representing the developing world here at home
- Increasing emphasis on the need for education at home about the developing world
- Increasing emphasis on international trade systems
- Increasing emphasis on the international debt crisis
- Increasing emphasis on the exploration of project failures with a view to learning
- Increasing emphasis on development (aid is only one facet of development)
- Increasing emphasis on the importance of the environment for the developing world
Online Resources
Europe funding development
Globalization 101 - Excellent
African Tour by U.S. Treasury Secretary and Bono
Commission For Africa
USAID in Africa
The World Bank
Sustainable Africa
Aid in Africa - Success or Failure?
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