Aid Updates
It's been a slow week, huh folks?
Bush making himself look dumb with a slew of poor appointment decisions. Is there not one qualified person in this country?
..but enough of that.
I'm going to hit on foreign aid and the horrid American policy thereof.
A lot of people think America is the most generous nation in the world, I'm sorry to inform them otherwise.
It would take a serious stretch of the term generosity to describe this policy.
As of 2004 less than one fifth of US foreign aid went to Africa, the poorest continent on the planet.
In general America gives about one third of its aid to the "poorest" and "least developed" countries according to NationMaster
The US often notes it is the world's biggest foreign aid donor. The question is where the is aid going. Only about half goes to development and humanitarian aid.
If we don't include Iraq and Afghanistan and instead look to normal US aid spending the biggest recipient nations are again not the poorest.
Israel
Egypt
Jordan
So only about half of the less than 1% of GNP our country spends on foreign aid goes to where it is most needed.
Source Link(PDF)
What, you might ask? Less than 1% of the budget on foreign aid?
Correct, less than half a penny out of every dollar.
The US is not the only country with an anemic foreign aid policy.
It is possible to save millions of lives and eradicate extreme poverty in our world, but with nonsense like this people will continue to die for no reason. Some African nations will continue to provide havens for terrorists.
Osama Bin Laden spent his fair share of time in Sudan you know.
The choice is clear if we want to end poverty we must force our government to act like it.
Bush making himself look dumb with a slew of poor appointment decisions. Is there not one qualified person in this country?
..but enough of that.
I'm going to hit on foreign aid and the horrid American policy thereof.
A lot of people think America is the most generous nation in the world, I'm sorry to inform them otherwise.
It would take a serious stretch of the term generosity to describe this policy.
As of 2004 less than one fifth of US foreign aid went to Africa, the poorest continent on the planet.
In general America gives about one third of its aid to the "poorest" and "least developed" countries according to NationMaster
The US often notes it is the world's biggest foreign aid donor. The question is where the is aid going. Only about half goes to development and humanitarian aid.
If we don't include Iraq and Afghanistan and instead look to normal US aid spending the biggest recipient nations are again not the poorest.
Israel
Egypt
Jordan
So only about half of the less than 1% of GNP our country spends on foreign aid goes to where it is most needed.
Source Link(PDF)
What, you might ask? Less than 1% of the budget on foreign aid?
Correct, less than half a penny out of every dollar.
The US is not the only country with an anemic foreign aid policy.
It is possible to save millions of lives and eradicate extreme poverty in our world, but with nonsense like this people will continue to die for no reason. Some African nations will continue to provide havens for terrorists.
Osama Bin Laden spent his fair share of time in Sudan you know.
The choice is clear if we want to end poverty we must force our government to act like it.
posted by Turnea at
2:37 PM
4 Comments:
This is good to know. But besides our government, what about private institutions like Save The Children and ADRA? Don't they give a hefty sum from private investors? Just wandering...
By
Anonymous, at 4:10 PM
Certainly private donors play their part. In the US I believe they give more than the government. The problem is that a comperhensive review of where the money is going is nigh unto impossible.
In addition tons of private groups are not all going to coordinate their efforts to the greatest effect.
The point of development aid is not just to provide food, but to provide things that will enable the people to grow their own food, to be educated, in general to escape poverty as a nation.
Development aid is best provided by governements not private groups.
Besides our goverment promised to raise the foreign aid budget years ago, not that anyone in charge noticed.
By
Turnea, at 5:29 PM
Is this because nobody in the goverment really cares? Or is it not understood what the crisis truly is? Or is it because they don't have any precious minerals to offer us? I just want to know.
By
Internet Street Philosopher, at 8:18 AM
Well precious minerals have little to do with it. Many Afrcan nations have plenty of precious minerals. Gold, diamonds, oil etc. The US could gain access to those with or without foreign aid.
The key is that people in general don't really care to eliminate poverty in the third world. The government mirrors the peoples priorities. Our country will get riled up over one woman dying and then not care when millions die of malaria and AIDS.
It's not money, not race, it's just plain and simple apathy which breeds the even more dangerous ignorance. Most Americans don't know how little their government gives, don't know that 30,000 people die a day due to poverty, think it's all the fault of people stealing aid etc.
By
Turnea, at 12:19 PM
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